Odyssey of a Strange Femme
by DragonScouter
Summary: Pandimala is a triple changer for the Autobot side. However, she doesn't fit in and she is okay with that. She has her friends and that is all she needs. But, when her darkest secret is revealed, she will be forced to give up the home she loves and that is where the adventure truly begins! Re-Write of The Journey of a Strange Femme! Rated T because I am paranoid.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

 **Authoress: Yes I finally get to do this re-write for the first instalment of the Journey Chronicles and, more specifically, for the story The Journey of a Strange Femme! I have been so excited to start on this and now I finally get to get it started! Oh there are going to be many twists and surprises...*realizes that, since this is a new story, that she is alone*...Oh yeah. *walks off***

* * *

 **AN: The second part of this prologue (which is indicated by the ten stellar cycles later mark) happens when the Autobots are making their final drive to boot the Decepticons off of Cybertron. We will stay in this timing for at least one more chapter if not two...though probably only one. How about I just let you all know when we change timing. That is so much easier. XD Enjoy this story!**

* * *

Prologue

 **Megatron's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I sighed as I looked out across the shadowed city that my Decepticons called home. This war had been going on for so long that I had lost track of when it had started. So much energon spilled and I knew that it was only going to get worse. The Autobots were always pressing at our forces and I felt that, in ten more stellar cycle, our borders would be overrun by the council and their followers and we would be forced to leave our home.

But, there was also a small glimmer of hope that I had heard of from two of my most loyal supporters, a gray and green helicopter femme called Malice and a black seeker mech called Pandemonium. I met them during the beginning of the war in a small camp just outside of Tarn and I had been trying to find out just how this platoon was working so efficiently. For some reason, the platoon made more headway in the fighting than many that had double the size of troops had.

So, I had visited and found that the success was not due to anybot actually fighting in the army. But, instead, it came from Malice and Pandemonium. The couple had followed this platoon for quite some time and always helped where they could. Malice would make specialty homemade meals and Pandemonium helped train the newer troops that would come in. Before that solar cycle, I had no idea that they were this big of a help.

Anyways, back to my thoughts, I had heard of some hope from those two. While they had been bonded for quite some time, they had never been able to become sparked. That was, however, until Malice started to not feel well and she went to see one of our medics, a brown and dark green car mech called Razor, and found out that she was sparked. Just the news that she was sparked spread around our troops like wildfire. That had been almost one hundred and fifty solar cycles ago. Now, the sparkling, who we knew was a femme, would be coming any solar cycle now and all of our troops were in a buzz over it.

"All of this excitement about the sparkling sure has the troops more active."

I turned to see Starscream walk up next to me. Nodding in response, I said, "Yes, and I hope that this sparkling will help us end this war between us and the Autobots. A sign of new life, under our freedom, is just the push that our troops need to surge ahead of the Autobots. But, I can't seem to stay patient. I just wish that the sparkling would come so our troops can feel even more motivated."

A chuckle came from Starscream. "The femme's already a celebrity and she hasn't even been born yet. Once she is born, there will be little pictures of her floating around the troops that I guarantee."

In return, I nodded. I had no doubt that what Starscream said was accurate. A sparkling, and one born from two bots and not from the Well, was a big deal and since it was to be born to bots on our side of the war, it would give us the edge to eventually win this war.

A call coming in on my comm. link had me curious. "This is Megatron. Go ahead and speak." I answered it. Starscream was looking at me curiously but I held off on saying anything until I could get an answer from the caller.

"Megatron? This is Pandemonium." I felt hope as Pandemonium's voice came in from the other side of the communicator. "Malice is in labor at the hospital right now."

That was the last word that I needed to hear. "Starscream and I are on our way now." I then closed the communicator and turned to my second in command. "Starscream, that was Pandemonium. Malice has gone into labor."

That was all that I needed to say as the two of us transformed and flew into the air. The flight to the hospital that Malice was at would only take five minutes but I didn't want to waste a single nano-click. Finally, after all those solar cycles of waiting, the little femme that we had all been waiting for was coming into the world. I wouldn't send a message to my troops until we were sure that the little femme was alright. I was also curious about what the little femme would look like. Lockdown had been able to procure a base protoform for Malice and Pandemonium for this event. Even obscure Decepticons like Lockdown were excited for this new femme to come into our world.

In no time at all, we had arrived at the med center so Starscream and I transformed before making our way down the halls of the med center. It took us a few more clicks to arrive in the delivery room waiting area and, much to my dismay, there was no one there. That meant that Malice was probably still in labor and that meant that we were going to have to wait. But, this wait would be worth it.

Cycles went by without a word from anybot and I was starting to get impatient. I wanted to see the little femme but, if something was wrong, I wished someone would tell us. Were deliveries usually this long? I couldn't even remember the last time that there had been a Cybertronian to come from two creators instead of the Well. Maybe this was the normal?

The sound of a door opening caused Starscream and I to glance up and I soon saw the black seeker mech that was called Pandemonium standing there. He had a large smile on his face and I was sure that meant that the delivery went alright. "Megatron, Starscream; follow me please." The both of us nodded and followed the black seeker mech down the halls until we got to one near the end. Once inside, I saw that Malice, a gray helicopter femme, was laying her back against the delivery berth with something black held in her arms. "Go ahead sirs. We wanted you to see her next." Pandemonium whispered to Starscream and I.

I didn't like being called Lord at all. I had some soldiers try to call me that from time to time and I would immediately correct them. I was not Lord over anything. We were to work together to try and take down the tyranny that was the council…no matter what. Also, I realized that Starscream and I had stopped moving so we both started to move toward Malice and, once we were by her, I felt myself smile I happiness and surprise when I saw the bundle in her arms.

The little femme laying there was colored mainly black, like her sire, but she also had lime green stripes wrapping around her wings, lime green tipped shoulder cannons and digits, and the two round sensory nodes on the top of her helm were lime green.

Yes, to my greatest shock, the little femme that was to give hope to our troops was a triple changer…and a clone of Blitzwing now that I looked at her. They were rare enough even coming from the Well…but to actually be born of a carrier and a sire, that was a miracle in itself. This would be what we would need to win the war.

"Would you like to hold her Megatron?"

I jumped as Malice suddenly spoke to me and I could only stare at her in shock for a click before slowly nodding. "It…would be an honor." I finally got out before I held my hands toward Malice, who was holding the sparkling out to me.

Carefully taking the young femme into my servos, I moved her so she was resting in my arms securely and I was surprised to see that the little femme seemed asleep, a peaceful look on her light gray faceplate. From what I had read on the subject, new sparklings usually cried when they were born. Even the ones that came from the Well were known to cry for hours. But, this little femme was in what looked like a peaceful recharge.

"What's her name?" Starscream asked them as he stood next to me and looked at the sparkling.

Malice let out a small laugh. "It's Pandimala. We thought about calling her Malwing before she was born but, when she came out with both of our colors, we decided to go with our second choice."

I nodded and went to say more when, to my surprise, the little femme in my arms moved slightly before she onlined her optics and two shining lime green orbs stared up at me. Perplexed was all I could feel as I stared at her optics. Never before now had I seen another Cybertronian with lime green optics like this. "Malice…her optics. Do one of your ancestors have green optics?"

Pandemonium shook his helm at my question. "No Megatron. It was just as much a surprise to us as it is to you when she first opened them and they were green. As far back as I know, both of our ancestors were red optic bots."

While her green optics were curious, I softly smiled when Pandimala reached her small servo towards my index digit and gently grabbed it. She seemed to be staring at it in wonder and, after a click, she smiled widely and started to giggle. She was one happy sparkling. Watching her play with my finger caused me to realize that my hope in her encouraging our troops was going to happen in an even greater way then I expected.

 **Ten Stellar Cycles Later**

 **Pandimala's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I giggled to myself as I played with the stacking blocks that Mr. Starscream gave me. They were lots of fun and I always tried to build them up higher and higher. I still remembered when Mr. Starscream gave them to me for my sparkday last stellar cycle. I was so excited to get them that I had almost forgotten to open my other presents from everybot else. Sire and Carrier reminded me though and, while I loved Mr. Starscream's gift, I did like the other gifts too.

Everybot was always so nice to me. Even when I fell down to the lower levels that one time. Carrier was really worried about me but a nice bot down there played with me until Carrier came down and found me. Carrier and Sire sometimes took me down there to see them if they had to go and help Mr. Megatron and his Autobot troops.

But, that wasn't this solar cycle. No, Mr. Megatron and Mr. Starscream were here today and I was hoping that it was something good. My sparkday was tomorrow and I bet we were going to have lots of fun. We always did. I remember at my last spark day that Mr. Starscream had sneaked me out of the house and took me flying! Well, I was in his cockpit but still we had fun. Of course, Carrier wasn't so happy when we got back. She yelled at Mr. Starscream a lot.

Since tomorrow was the sparkday when I would officially become a youngling, maybe we could all go flying? I bet it was so much fun being in the air and letting the wind hit your wings. Mr. Starscream and Mr. Blitzwing always talked about how exciting it was to fly. Mr. Blitzwing wasn't on Cybertron right now though. Carrier said something about him being on Gigan…Gigiganto…the giant planet.

The sound of a door opening caused me to glance up and I smiled when I saw Mr. Starscream and Mr. Megatron walk out. But, my smile fell slightly when I saw that they looked sad. Why were they sad? I didn't like to see them sad. It hurt to see them so unhappy and I didn't like to see them unhappy.

Carrier and Sire soon followed them out and everyone gave hugs. They must have to leave to help the Autobots fight the Decepticons. Since I didn't want to be left out, I stood up and walked over to them before giving Mr. Starscream a hug around his legs, which we returned with a hug, before I ran up to Mr. Megatron and gave him a big hug around his legs.

But, when I looked up at him, I saw that he looked even more sad. What did I do? I didn't want to make Mr. Megatron sad. I didn't like seeing Mr. Megatron sad. Maybe if I hugged him tighter he would be happier? So, I did just that. What I didn't expect was for Megatron to kneel down and pull me into a hug of his own. Mr. Megatron usually didn't do the big hugs. Maybe a half hug with one arm but never had he done a full hug before. Something had to be wrong.

I didn't have time to ask, though, as Mr. Megatron let go and stood up before he and Mr. Starscream left. Pain filled inside me and I felt like I hadn't been able to help Mr. Megatron and Mr. Starscream. Why couldn't I help them? Was I not strong enough to help them? When I got bigger, I wanted to become a strong Autobot that Mr. Megatron and Mr. Starscream could be proud of. I wanted to be strong enough to help them fight the evil Decepticons. The radio always called the Decepticons evil and Carrier and Sire never talked about the Decepticons, only about the Autobots. They must want me to be a strong Autobot.

"Pandimala," I looked up at my Carrier and saw that she looked sad too. What was going on? "go to your room and pack only the essentials."

Carrier and Sire had told me about fourteen solar cycles ago that, one day, we might have to leave our home and that I was to only bring things that were very important to me that I could fit in my subspace. Something was really wrong if we had to leave our home. Sire and Carrier loved living in our home here and I loved it too.

"Yes Carrier." I responded to my carrier before I hurried up to my room. It was a pretty big room, in my opinion, and I had many gifts spread around that had been given to me by, what Carrier called, my 'fans'…whatever that meant.

But, most of those gifts weren't 'essentials' like Carrier put it. I looked around my room for only the really important things for me. I grabbed an extra cube of energon, the stacking blocks that Mr. Starscream gave me, a blank data pad carrier and sire gave me, and maybe most importantly was Mr. Lunor, my stuffed moon that Mr. Megatron got for me from a distant planet far away from Cybertron. He was a little stuffed sphere that was soft and had a smiley face on. But, even better, was that Mr. Lunor could glow when there wasn't any light around. I slept with him every night and I couldn't imagine not sleeping with him.

Right when I finished packing, I looked around to make sure I didn't miss anything before I moved to my door. But, before I opened it, I heard Carrier's voice from the other side. "I can't believe that this is happening already. Pandimala is going to be so confused about all of this." I was confused but I knew that Carrier and Sire would explain it to me once we were safe from the Decepticons.

"I know Malice. Curse those Autobots to the Pit for this. One solar cycle, we will make them pay for this. I never wanted Pandimala to go through this." My Sire growled softly.

My own spark stopped and I had to cover my mouth as I tried to gasp. Tears slowly fell down my cheekplates as I ran over what my Sire had just said. No. They…they couldn't be! They just couldn't! The Autobots were the good guys…the ones who were fighting for peace. The Decepticons were terrorists who attacked everybot they came across no matter what. Maybe I heard Sire wrong? Mr. Megatron was even in charge of his own group of Autobots and Mr. Starscream was his helper!

I listened carefully as Carrier spoke. "I know Pandemonium. But, we support the great Decepticon leader, Megatron, and Starscream is an excellent second in command. They will be able to help us recover from this blow. But, we must finish packing before the fighting gets to our sector."

Nothing else they said reached my audios as I slowly backed away from the door, my servo over my mouth and silent tears streaking down my faceplate. My Carrier and Sire…they were supporters of the Decepticons! Mr. Megatron was the leader of the Decepticons and Mr. Starscream was his helper! My whole life felt like it was falling down on me and it was so hard to take an intake.

The sound of movement outside my door caused me to panic and I looked around to see that my berth coverings could be tied together to help me down from the window. "Pandimala darling are you almost ready?"

I jumped when my Sire's voice came from the other side of my door. I couldn't let him in here until I was out the window. If he came in before that, I knew that I couldn't escape. "Y…yes Sire. I just have to get a few more things. I'll be down in a click." I answered him hesitantly.

Thankfully, I heard the sound of his pedesteps moving away from my door and I quickly got back to work tying my berth coverings together. Once they were tight, I tied it to the support beam by my window before I threw it outside. Wasting no time, I quickly climbed out and, once my pedes hit the ground, I turned and ran toward the sound of the fighting. That would be where the real Autobots were and they could help me. I knew they could.

 **Ultra Magnus' 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I let out a grunt as I locked swords with a large Decepticon who had tried to ambush my platoon of soldiers. He was a big mech but I would be able to hold him off until the rest of my troops got into position. We were currently implementing our final phase of removing the Decepticons from our home world. Our attack was a five-pronged attack, each led by either a Prime or myself, and of course Hinge of the Guardians had a sector for himself and his five Guardians. They were one in a million troops and they could take of a sector by himself.

After a few clicks of striking at the mech in front of me with the blade that transformed out of my servo, I changed tactics and changed my sword back to my servo and gripped the Magnus Hammer firmly in my grip before I swung out, electricity covering its head, and slammed it against the large tank Decepticon I was fighting. The mech was sent flying through many buildings and I doubted that I would be seeing him again.

I was glad that this attack seemed to be going as well as it was. For the past ten stellar cycles, I had noticed that the Decepticons had become much more emboldened and seemed to have a new surge of energy to fight against us and we were defeated. But, even from the Decepticons that we had captured, we could not discover just what had caused them to suddenly have this new burst of spirit when we had been in a deadlock for millions of stellar cycles.

The sound of a jet engine cut through my thoughts and I looked toward the heart of the city. To my surprise, before I could locate a Decepticon in the air…like I thought I would, I saw something moving toward me on the ground. Even though it looked like the bot was far off, I tightened my grip on the Magnus Hammer. But, as the bot got closer, I realized that the Cybertronian was much closer than I thought…and much smaller too.

After a click, I realized that the little figure that was running toward me with a panicked look on her faceplate was either an older sparkling or a younger youngling. I hadn't heard of the Decepticons being in possession of any sparklings. Plus, this one looked very scared. Something was telling me that she didn't even realize that I was standing here.

The sight of a black Decepticon seeker coming into view suddenly told me why the femme was afraid and I knew what I had to do. Charging up the Magnus hammer, I waited for the seeker to get a little closer to my position before I sent a charge of lightning at the seeker. As the little femme seemed to dive behind a pile of rubble, the black seeker hovered in the air unstably for a few nano-clicks, probably trying to locate the femme, before it turned around and left.

Once the seeker was gone, I wasted no time in closing the distance between myself and the location of where I had last seen the femme. My first worry was that the lightning from the Magnus Hammer had hit her. While I had decent experience with the Magnus Hammer, it could sometimes get out of my control and the lightning sometimes hit where I didn't want it to.

When I got to the spot where the femme had been, I was worried when I didn't see anything at first. I hoped that she wasn't injured. No sparkling or youngling should be out in the middle of this war zone and this femme had just got a front row seat to the violence.

Movement from the corner of my optics caused me to look to my right and I saw slight movement between the rubble from the destroyed buildings around us. I was sure that it was the femme. She would be scared to come out right now and I had to earn her trust. After taking a quick scan of the area to make sure that there weren't any more Decepticons around, I moved down to one knee. This was, I was closer to her height but still not in a defenseless position if a Decepticon did come upon me.

Shrinking the Magnus Hammer and putting it in my subspace, I held out a hand toward the pile of scrap that the femme was hiding behind. "It's safe to come out now little one. The seeker is gone. It is just us two here." I saw slight movement from behind the pile of scrap, like she was going to come out, but, after a few clicks, she hadn't come out yet. "I promise I will not hurt you little one."

However, the femme didn't move again. I had to get her out of danger quickly before the Decepticons got to this position. I was tempted to call Hinge and his Guardians to my location to create a protective barrier around me while I earned the femme's trust. But, before I could activate my comm link, the little femme spoke. "Who…who are you?" She asked me carefully.

I found myself smiling when I heard her voice. It had been so long since I heard the sound of a youngling's voice that it was very nice to hear it. But, I knew that the little femme was waiting for me to answer her question and, with every click I didn't answer her, the more she was probably building up mistrust toward me. "My designation is Ultra Magnus young one, and I am the leader of the Autobots." I then decided to try and take a chance. "May I have your designation young one?"

Silence followed my question and I was worried that I may have moved too quickly. But, I had no choice. Right now, we were in a hot spot of Decepticon activity and, while I saw some escape ships lifting into the air, I didn't take my guard down. Decepticons could have stayed behind and be hiding. I wanted to get this little femme to safety as quickly as I could but I didn't want to scare her. She was probably terrified as it was and me chasing her like the seeker had been would not help me gain her trust.

Movement from behind the pile of rubble had me tense in anticipation. Was the femme finally coming out of hiding? The answer to that soon became clear when, slowly but surely, the little femme peeked her helm out from behind the rubble. Her helm was colored black with two black sensory nodes on top with a lime green stripe around them. Her faceplate was light gray and she looked very hesitant. But, what surprised me the most, of what I could see of the little femme, were the lime green optics that showed hesitant curiosity in them. I had never heard of a bot having lime green optics before. They were quite beautiful on the little femme.

"I…I'm Pandimala…Mr. Ultra Magnus." The little femme hesitantly introduced herself to me. While she did shrink back slightly behind the rubble afterwards, she left her helm out enough so her optics were visible and they were locked on me.

I hoped that I smiled a comforting smile at the little femme before I continued. "You may just call me Mr. Magnus if you like Pandimala…or just Ultra Magnus." I really didn't like the sound of Mr. Ultra and I don't think my processor would allow even this sparkling to call me that.

My systems stilled slightly when the little femme came out and she slowly walked toward me. The first thing that surprised me…though hopefully my faceplate didn't show the surprise, was that this little femme was a triple changer. Triple changers were extremely rare and I was surprised to see one so young here.

Once the black femme with lime green stripes moved to just out of arms reach before she spoke. "Mr. Magnus…" Pandimala started hesitantly. "What…what will happen now?"

I saw fear in the youngling's optics as she looked to me for answers. She was probably scared and I was sure that she was now homeless. I didn't know where her family was but I had a feeling that, since she had escaped from the Decepticons, that they were probably offline. This little femme had probably been through so much in her young life and now she was here, semi-trusting a complete stranger, and looking to me for answers.

At first, I wasn't sure how to respond to the femme. But, right when I was about to tell her that I didn't have any idea what would happen next, the memory of one of my past troops came to me and I knew exactly what to do. "If you would like, Pandimala, then I could allow you to stay with me for this night cycle and, in the morning, I can take you to a friend of mine you runs an Autobot Academy support home. She takes in younglings like yourself and watches them like you were her own. Does that sound nice?"

To my surprise, the little femme seemed to stare at me in shock for a click. What did I say that shocked her so much? Did I suggest the wrong thing? Would she refuse and try to run? Even though the sounds of fighting were almost gone, I really wanted to get this femme out of here as quickly as I could.

Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long for her answer as the little femme ran up to me, tears in her optics, and hugged my leg strut. "Yes yes…thank you so much Mr. Magnus…thank you!"

Being careful and cautious, I gently picked up the crying femme and held her close to me. She seemed to be in shock and the best thing for me to do for her right now was to let her cry to her sparks content. So, as the report that Kaon had finally fallen to us reached my private messages, I walked toward Iacon and my own home. Pandimala would stay with me for the night cycle to rest. That was the least I could do for the little one.

To my continued surprise, the little femme suddenly started to breathe softly and a smile came to my lips when I realized that she was now asleep. While Pandimala was asleep, though, I took the opportunity to take a scan of her systems. While I didn't have any medical scanners, my scans could pick up when the femme's sparkday was, how old she was, and when she had come from the Well.

A click after my scans were complete, I found myself shocked by the information that I found. First off, Pandimala was still technically a sparkling in age…though after all she just went through she was more experienced than most younglings were. Secondly, and by pure luck, the young femme's sparkday was tomorrow and she would officially be a youngling then.

However, it was the next piece of information that caused me to widen my optics and glance down at the recharging sparkling in my arms. Pandimala, she did not come from the Well. According to her scans, Pandimala was the creation of a mech and a femme…a natural spark creation. They were almost unheard of in this solar cycle. The only bot that I knew of currently that was sparked was a femme called Cryal. Her sparkmate had been a medic but was offlined in a raid. The only reason she was still online was because her sparkmate, Dif, had made her promise to him that she would stay online and raise her sparkling when it came.

Before I could get too deep into my thoughts, though, the last of my scan information was ready for me and, as I read it, I looked down at the femme in my arms. Pandimala…not only was she a triple changer and sparked by two bots…but she was the creation of two Decepticons…and two known Decepticons. They were known for their complete support of Megatron and the Decepticon cause. Their designations were Malice and Pandemonium.

I put heavy locks on the information that I had just found and buried it in the furthest reaches of the Autobot database that I could access in my helm. For this femme to be raised in the Autobot fold with a chance to become a great Autobot, then none could know that she was the creation of Decepticons. Since Pandimala had ran away from the Decepticon seeker that had followed her…which could have very likely been her Sire, then I doubted that she would say anything on the subject to anybot. I just had to make sure that none ever got to that file.

Clearing my thoughts of the information I had just discovered, I looked down and smiled as the little femme slept peacefully in my arms. In my spark, I realized that this femme was going to do great things one solar cycle…and I knew that I would be so proud of her when she did. But, until then, I had to get this little femme home so I could get some recharge as well.

* * *

 **Authoress: *Cheers* Yes! I finally get some company here! I missed all of you so much! I missed this story so much! *starts to cry* You all have no idea how much I missed you!**

 **Ultra Magnus: *unsure of what to do* Um...I am glad to see you too Authoress.**

 **Authoress: *glomps Ultra Magnus' pede* I'm so glad you missed me too Ultra Magnus! *cries louder and won't let go***

 **Young Pandimala: *giggles* You're funny Authoress. *giggles more***

 **Panidmala and Ultra Magnus: *both smile at how cute Pandimala is at this age***

* * *

 **AN: Here is the long awaited re-write for this story! I am so excited to be writing this for you all and I can promise that many things will start to changing from what you think you know from The Journey of a Strange Femme...and from the entirety of the Journey Chronicle series itself. I technically already made one slightly big change...but I wonder if anyone caught what it was? Anyways, next chapter will have Ultra Magnus taking the then youngling Pandimala to the Autobot Academy support home. I wonder what changes are ahead of us all?...Well, I know but that is probably what all of you are thinking. XD**

 **That's all I really have to say for now though. Please leave a review, even to say hi. Flames will be used to melt the glaciers and I'm sure you all don't want that to happen...so don't send them. ;D Until next time, TTYL! *dies of overload of sparkling Pandimala cuteness***


	2. Those Called Family

**AN: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.**

* * *

 **Young Pandimala: What time is it?**

 **Ultra Magnus: It is time to get up soon young one. You have a full chapter ahead of you.**

 **Young Pandimala:...Oh.**

 **Authoress: *confused* Aren't you excited about this Pandimala?**

* * *

Ch. 1: Those Called Family

 **Pandimala's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I felt safe and secure as I moved closer to the heat that was next to me. Usually, carrier and sire didn't let me recharge with them because their berth was barely big enough for the, let alone me. So…why were they now? As my wake-up procedures started to work, the first thing I realized was that this berth seemed a little softer than my creators. I doubt that they could…

My processor woke up very quickly as my optics onlined and I saw that I was definitely not in my creators' room. No, now I was remembering everything that happened yesterday. After I had gotten out of my window, I had made it about three blocks before I looked up and saw my Sire coming after me in his alt mode. But, I couldn't go with them. I really couldn't go with him. They were Decepticons and they were the bad guys. They were the ones who attacked innocents and had so much energon on their servos.

So, I continued to run. But, I knew that I was not going to get very far. I was running and I knew that my Sire was really fast when it came to flying and I didn't stand a chance. But, Primus must have been looking out for me when lightning suddenly hit my sire and I took the chance to get into some cover behind some rubble. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that Ultra Magnus…the one that the comm casts that I listened to every night talked about constantly, would find me. But, I had been scared of him. Meeting new bots…I wasn't good at that. Usually Carrier and Sire would introduce me and then stay with me as I introduced myself and got to know them.

Glancing to the warmth next to me, I felt my eyes widen in shock when I saw that the warm were Ultra Magnus' arms as the cuddled me next to him. Yesterday really had happened and it wasn't a dream. However, as much as in awe I was of the leader of the Autobots, I felt myself tense when his optic ridges twitched before his optics started to online. I wasn't sure what happened after he had saved me and he might have put me in a guest room. I sometimes walked in my recharge and, when I was at home…with my creators, I would sometimes wake up on top of the energon cabinet.

Once his optics were fully online, he glanced down at me and smiled. "Did you recharge well?"

All I could do was stare up at him and nod once. I was still in shock that I was with the leader of the Autobots! I continued to stare as he let out a laugh and sat up. "I guess it might be kind of a shock to wake up here. But, I don't have any extra berths in my house and I wanted to make sure that you would be alright." He then stood up and motioned to me. "Come on now and I'll show you to the washracks."

Thankfully, I was able to answer. "Thank you Mr. Magnus sir." I was confused as he let out a small sigh at what I said and so I scooted off his berth…and it was a big berth…before he helped me down and held my servo as we walked through his house. It wasn't as big as I would think it was. In my processor, the leader of the Autobots should live in a large house with multiple rooms and washracks. But, from what he said, he only had the one room and one washrack. "Mr. Magnus?"

"Pandimala," Mr. Magnus started. "you can call me Ultra Magnus if you want."

I didn't have to address the leader of the Autobots in a formal way? Why? He was a leader of an entire faction? "Why?" I asked him curiously.

For some reason, he laughed at my question for a nano-click before he answered. "Pandimala, the Autobots are a family. Now, some members of our family like the titles but I do not. So please, call me Ultra Magnus."

Like it seemed to be almost every time he spoke, I looked at him in wonder. "Ultra Magnus…why is your house so small?"

He chuckled as we reached the end of the hall and he opened the door. When I looked inside, I saw that it was the washrack. It was simple enough and I now wanted to know the answer to my question. "Pandimala, we are currently at war with the Decepticons. Resources are short and I would not think that it was right that I have a lavish living while my troops suffer." He then shook his helm and turned on one of the spickets. "Now, let's get you cleaned up."

Mr. …Ultra Magnus helped me clean off in the washracks and, once I was clean, he helped me dry off and then he showed me where his kitchen was. It was kinda funny, though, when he had to get three big boxes to put on my chair to help me reach the table easier. It felt so funny to be up so high. It was almost like I was flying! "Ultra Magnus," I started as I finished off the cube of low grade he gave me for breakfast, "what is the housing unit like?" I was worried about what the bot Ultra Magnus was talking about was like. Besides Ultra Magnus, I never met anybot without carrier and sire.

"It is a very nice place for you to live Pandimala. Joint, and her bondmate Blockade, were in a troop of my finest troops and they are loyal to the Autobots and respect its code. You will be safe and well taken care of with them. I can assure you of that." Ultra Magnus answered me.

I nodded and tried to picture what living in this place would be like. Nice Autobots who were friends with Ultra Magnus and who Ultra Magnus said were nice. Soon, I found myself smiling and giggling to myself. I couldn't wait to go now! Living with Autobots would be a new experience and I was almost ready to jump off my chair and leave. But, I had a little bit of low grade left in my cube so I quickly reached out for it and gulped it quickly.

 **Ultra Magnus' 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

It was hard not to laugh at how fast the little one in front of me went from nervous to excited. It almost seemed like yesterday disappeared in the blink of an optic. But, I knew better. While Pandimala seemed alright for now, the shock of what had happened would hit her. But, until then, I was going to allow her to stay this happy.

As she finished her energon, I realized that she might have been the reason that the Decepticon forces had been having such a forward push against our forces. A new sparkling in their ranks would encourage any side if they hadn't seen a sparkling in a while. That was even more true in this case since my Autobots had secured the Well long before Megatron could get access to it. But, the femme must have come from a stolen blank protoform. I knew that there were a couple locations besides the cyber-ninja dojo that kept them, one location off world, and it would not be completely impossible for the Decepticons to get their servos on one for this femme's spark.

"Can we go there now Ultra Magnus?" Pandimala asked me as she looked up at me. On the table in front of her was her completely empty cube of low grade.

While I really didn't want to leave the little femme's company, I did have a council meeting in a cycle and the council didn't appreciate it when I was late. So, with a nod, I stood from my seat. "Yes Pandimala. Let's get you to your new home." I smiled as she cheered and ran for the front door. It was hard to believe that she had gone through the trauma that she had last solar cycle.

The two of us were soon out of the door and, once I locked it, I made sure to lead us down the almost barren path to the housing unit. There was a faster way to go but it would be crowded and that might make Pandimala uncomfortable.

Joint and her bondmate had been part of a team called Team Galaxy. It was a very skilled team of some of the finest bots I had seen in a while. Joint herself had been a medic working on the fields of Tyger Pax with her team. Her bondmate, Blockade, had been the team's scout and all the reports that I got back from the front said that he was very skilled in doing his job. I had personally met them when they got out of their boot camp. On their team's graduation cycle, I had struck up a conversation with the team and we kept in touch.

Glancing down at the seemingly energetic Pandimala, I knew that she was going to enjoy her time living with Joint and her bondmate. "Ultra Magnus," Pandimala started. I glanced down at her as she continued. "Why are you helping me so much? I mean, you are the leader of the Autobots. Don't you have more important things to do than worry about the well-being of somebot like me?"

Well, so much for her energetic stride. I guess she must have gotten herself overexcited and now she was worried about why I was helping her. Smiling, I motioned for Pandimala to stop before I knelt in front of her. "Pandimala, I am getting older. One solar cycle, I won't be here anymore and it will be up to your generation to make our planet a better place to live. It is my duty, above all else, to care for all Autobots, no matter their age or gender. You are an Autobot, Pandimala, and as such I will help you whenever I can."

Her face instantly had a smile when I said that and she ran up to me before hugging my leg. I didn't realize it until then, but maybe Pandimala's constant questioning was her way of coping with what happened. I would make sure I took time out of my schedule to come and visit her here. "Thank you Ultra Magnus." Pandimala finally whispered before she smiled and ran forward.

Letting out a laugh, I followed behind the femme and we continued this pace for another five clicks until the building I had been waiting to see came into view. "Pandimala, slow down we are here!" I called out to the little femme.

Pandimala slowed to a stop and looked up at the building in front of us. Since I was behind her, I couldn't see her expression well, but she looked amazed at Joint's home from what I could see. But, that awe, to my surprise, turned into a look of nervousness and I felt my optic ridges raise as she took a step back. After a click, when I got behind her, she turned and tried to dart away.

 **Pandimala's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

"I changed my mind! I don't want to go!" I yelped as I tried to run against Ultra Magnus' halting servo. Before, I had been really excited to come here and meet new Autobots and hear new stories and be free to become the Autobot I always wanted to be.

…But, now I was really nervous about what they were going to be like and I just wanted to stay with Ultra Magnus! "Now don't worry Pandimala." Ultra Magnus spoke in a soothing way. I calmed down slightly but still tried to get behind him. "The bots here are really nice and I know you will enjoy yourself here."

I stopped struggling against his servo but held unto it as I felt like I had scraplets in my tanks. "But…but I'm scared." My grip on his servo tightened as I looked at the house that was to become my new home.

"Pandimala," I looked up at Ultra Magnus and I felt better when I saw the comforting smile on his faceplate. He was really nice. "I understand that you are scared. It is always scary to experience something so new. But, you've been brave this far. Shouldn't you at least give Joint and Blockade a chance to show you that they are nice?"

Now a feeling of guilt welled up inside of me. I didn't want to go now, but at the same time I did. I wanted to meet them. They probably had some great stories to tell and I loved listening to stories. It was always so much fun when Mr. Starscream would talk…

I mentally shook myself out of thoughts on Mr. Starscream and looked forward at the building. It was now looking a little intimidating but, with an encouraging push from Ultra Magnus' servo, I slowly walked with him inside.

When we got inside, I was relieved that the housing unit was just another house and it looked really cozy and friendly. Immediately, I smiled when I continued to look around and saw that the place was clean and seemed to just have energy bouncing off the walls.

Sounds of screeching metal caused me to jump and hide behind Ultra Magnus as the sound of running came closer to us. This was starting to get scary and I was nervous about this place again. But, Ultra Magnus wasn't going anywhere so I didn't want to either. But, the sound of the running toward me was telling every circuit in my body to just run.

I jumped when a green car femme rounded the corner to the hall and screeched to a halt in front of Ultra Magnus. Something about her told me she was nice, even though she ran in fast enough to scare me like no other. Guess I wasn't really sure about this femme yet but, if Ultra Magnus was smiling, then it had to be alright.

"Sorry for not being here to greet you Ultra Magnus." The femme said to Ultra Magnus with a smile. "Got…held up by something and just got cleaned up."

From behind Ultra Magnus' leg strut, I was curious about what kept her but I wasn't going to say anything. I still wasn't sure about her completely. "It is quite alright Joint. I understand. However," Uh-oh, I had a feeling that he was about to bring me up. "let me introduce you to your new house guest." He then looked behind his pede and down at me. Scrap…I was discovered! "It's alright. You can come out."

Well, since he already pointed me out, I guess I didn't have any other choice. So I slowly walked out from behind Ultra Magnus' leg, while keeping hold of it, before I looked up at Joint. When I saw her smiling at me, I couldn't help but smile back. "Hi…my name is Pandimala."

My grip on Ultra Magnus' leg got tighter when joint quickly knelt in front of me. But, I wasn't going to run yet. I had to give her a chance. "Hello there Pandimala. My name is Joint and I hope we can become friends." Her smile then got wider.

It was so happy that I didn't even think as I ran up to her and gave her a hug. I liked giving bots hugs and she didn't seem to mind. Living here didn't seem like it was going to be bad. Actually, I was really sure that it was going to be a lot of fun.

"Well, it looks like you two are good now." I looked up at Ultra Magnus, and Joint stood up, as he said that. "I have to get to a council meeting now. Joint, do you have things covered from here?"

"Yes sir." Joint answered immediately, her smile staying in place.

But, my smile fell in worry. "You're leaving Ultra Magnus?" I felt like I was going to cry. I didn't want him to leave. He was my friend and I wanted him to stay with me. It was going to be scary without him here. I felt safe with him.

A sigh came from Ultra Magnus before he knelt in front of me. "I have to go back to my job Pandimala. The Autobots still need me as their leader." He then paused for a nano-click before he reached into his subspace. What was he doing? "Here Pandimala, I want you to have this."

Dangling from his digits was a pendant in the shape of a strange symbol. I found myself taking the pendant carefully from him and tracing the shape with my own sharp digits. "Wh…what is this?" I asked him carefully as I continued to stare at the pendant.

"When I was a young bot, I was exploring a dead planet that had never supported life, or so we thought. I was investigating a cave when I saw this image painted on the wall. It was the first time that I learned to not always judge something by how it looks. That symbol told me that there had once been life on that planet, even though other bots had said there wasn't. So I scanned the image and when I got back here, I had a friend of mine craft a pendant for me. Now I want you to have it." Ultra Magnus answered me.

Smiling, I nodded and held the pendant close for a click before I put it in my subspace and ran up and gave him a hug. "I'm going to miss you." I whispered quietly to him.

He, in return, pulled me in a little closer as well. "I'll miss you as well little one, and I'll visit when I can." I then watched, some tears in the corner of my optics, as Ultra Magnus stood up before walking out of the building. In that instant, I felt alone again. I didn't like being alone. I liked having bots around me that I could trust and right now there wasn't one with Ultra Magnus gone.

"Pandimala?" I turned to see Joint reaching her servo out for me to take, a smile on her face. "Would you like to come with me now?"

Looking at that smile, I realized that wasn't true anymore. Joint was a bot that I could trust and I knew that I was going to trust her more as I lived here longer. But, for now, I had to learn to trust her more. "Okay." I answered her with a smile as I reached her and took her servo in mine. I felt happy and safe while I was holding her servo and I knew now that I would grow to trust.

The two of us made it about half way down the hall before Joint turned to me. "Now, I'll take you to the living room so I can help blockade prepare the lunch energon. That will give you time to introduce yourself to the other younglings."

…Other younglings?

 **Vox's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

Boredom. That was all I could feel as I watched the feed from the hidden camera that we had hidden in the hall outside the living room door. The three of us loved to prank Joint and Blockade and, when Joint told us that she had to leave the room to meet with Ultra Magnus, we knew that we had time to get this prank together.

"Vox, how are the screens looking?" The black motorcycle mech with blue flames asked me. His name was Zarron and he came to the housing a few solar cycles after I did. I had been the first one so everyone was new to me when they came. I also knew how to set up the pranks against Joint and Blockade more efficiently.

I looked down at Zarron, who was staring up at me with his medium blue visor, before answering him. "Everything clear so far. She must have done something to get her into trouble." Our caretaker, Joint, always did get herself into trouble one way or another. But, she was a cool caretaker. Ultra Magnus came by a lot to talk with her and it was cool to see him.

"Zarron, help me with this!" The only femme in our little group asked Zarron. Her name was Tana and she was a silver armored vehicle femme with black stars on her shoulders and light blue optics. She was very hyper and loved making new friends. When she came here about sixty solar cycles ago, she nearly crushed Zarron and I in a hug when she introduced herself.

I had dark blue and dark gold plating and I was a speed car alt mode mech. My blue optics returned to the screen in front of me and I kept watch. One day, I wanted to be an intelligence officer and I wanted to practice as often as I could. Gathering surveillance was one way that I could practice here at home.

Movement on the screen caused me to jump slightly and I saw that Joint was coming back faster than we thought. Also, I saw something our size moving by her pedes…were we getting another youngling here? If we were then we were going to have to hold off on the prank. Didn't want to scare off a potential friend. "Tana, Zarron; put a pause on it. Joint's coming back and it looks like she has another youngling with her."

A wince traveled through me when the sound of clanging metal, most likely Tana hitting her helm on something…again, and that was soon followed by grumbling as Tana and Zarron made their way back out here. I, in turn, covered up the screen and got back to the main floor before sitting down with Tana and Zarron. We couldn't look like we were up to anything so Zarron took out some playing cards before dealing us all a hand and putting the cards in the middle.

"Have any twos?" Tana asked Zarron. Yeah, we liked go-sharkitcon…it was fun to play.

Zarron shook his helm and motioned to the deck. "Go-sharkticon."

Tana frowned and reached for the deck to grab a card. As she was drawing it, however, the door to the room opened and the three of us turned to see Joint walk in. But, I didn't see the figure that I had seen in the footage before. Was I just imagining things?

"Younglings, we have a new family member who is going to be living with us." Joint started. I was excited to be getting a new family member and that I hadn't been imagining things on the monitor. But, where was the youngling? Joint then turned to look behind herself before saying, "Come on out. I promise they are really nice."

Slowly, a femme youngling came out. She looked like she was a tank femme, which was rare in itself, and she was black with lime green markings. Her digits were sharp, not something I was used to seeing, and she had strange lime green optics. But, I was surprised by how tall she was. She didn't look that much older than me…if she even was older than me, and yet she was a good helm taller than me. "Hello." She greeted us nervously. I didn't know why she was nervous and I hoped she wasn't always like this. I wanted to be her friend and that was not going to be easy if she wasn't going to be open with us.

"Now, you three make her feel welcome." Joint continued after the youngling gave her hello. "I'm going to check in with Blockade and then get you all some energon." She then turned and walked out of the room.

Now it was just the three of us and the new bot. She looked nervous beyond belief and I knew that somebot was going to have to make the first move in introducing themselves. But, I wasn't sure exactly what to say. I mean, Tana was the last one to join our family and she didn't give Zarron and I time to get awkward because she ran up to each of us swamped us in giant hugs before introducing herself and saying that we were going to be friends.

A blur of silver rushed by me before I could stop Tana as she ran up to the femme and tried to give her a hug. The key word there was 'try' because as soon as Tana got close enough, the femme dodged Tana before she ran to the table with a shriek. It was impressive, though I didn't show it giving the situation, that the femme was able to dive under the table so quickly with how tall she was.

"What did I do?" Tana asked as she was frozen in place with a confused look on her faceplate.

Thwack!

She didn't have long to wonder as Zarron marched up to her and gave her a helm slap. "Tana, not everyone likes to be smothered by strangers when they first meet. Did it pass through your thick processor that she might be scared of us?"

Thwack!

Tana returned the hit as I made my way slowly to the table. "Don't hit me Zarron! I just wanted to introduce myself that's all." They were both now rubbing their helms.

I just shook mine as I got to the table and sat down in front of it. Underneath, I could see the femme staring back at me with a nervous look and she was crunched into a ball. "Hey, sorry about Tana there. None of us really have had the chance to make friends outside the three of us and so Tana was just really happy to meet you."

The femme stared at me for the longest time before slowly nodding. "You…you want to get to know me?" She asked me slowly.

I nodded and held out a servo to her. "Well, yeah. I'm Vox. What's your name?" I then sat there, unmoving, as I waited for her to make the next move.

Again, she stared at me, though this time more focused on my servo, and she continued to stay quiet for the longest time. "I…I never met anybot my age before…" She hadn't? That explains why she is being so hesitant. But, we were going to help her get over this shyness I was sure of it. "I…my name is Panidmala." She then reached her servo out and grabbed mine.

"Nice to meet you Pandimala." I smiled at her. Then, I looked behind me and saw that Tana and Zarron were waiting…well, Zarron was restraingin Tana from coming over here but I could see that he wanted to meet Panidmala too. So, I turned back to her and motioned behind me. "Do you want to meet the others? They're really nice and want to be your friends too."

Her grip on my servo loosened for a click and I saw that she was nervous. But, after a click, her grip tightened again and she nodded. "Yeah…I want to meet them." She then smiled at me and I smiled right back.

But, I felt like I should warn her about Tana. "Okay, but just giving you a helm's up Tana is going to want to give you a hug. Is that alright?"

Pandimala slowly nodded. "Y…yeah. Now that I know it is coming I'll be alright."

I could tell that she was still somewhat nervous but I helped her out from under the table and stood next to her in front of the others. "The other mech over there is Zarron."

Zarron nodded toward her with a smile. "Nice to meet you."

Then, I turned to Tana but Zarron had lost his grip on Tana and she ran up to Pandimala before giving her a huge hug. "Hi I'm Tana and it is so nice to meet you! I am so sorry that I scared you earlier but I really really really want to be your friend!"

At first, Pandimala looked scared of Tana and I was about to go in and pull her off. But, after a few nano-clicks, Pandimala gave Tana a hug back before saying, "My name's Panidmala and I want to be your friends too!" She didn't seem nervous at all after that. Guess it took one of Tana's infamous hugs to snap her out of it.

After a few more clicks, Tana finally let go of Pandimala. Since we were all going to be friends, I wanted to learn what she liked to do. "So, what do you like to do for fun?"

She looked at all of us and smiled before saying, "Well, I like to read, play go sharkticon, and I really like to play pranks." I was really excited that she like to play pranks but I didn't get a lot of time to think about it when something popped out from behind Pandimala's back and that caused the three of us to jump in surprise. Once I calmed myself down, I looked and felt my optics widen at what I saw. Behind Pandimala's back were, "Oh, and I've started to learn how to glide but once I learn to fly I really will enjoy flying if it is even half as fun as gliding."

I couldn't stop staring at her. She…she was a triple changer…That was so cool! That meant that, when she got older, she was going to be able to turn into a land vehicle and an air vehicle. "Pandimala…you can fly?" Zarron asked her as we all stared.

Pandimala looked slightly nervous but nodded. "Yeah…can not many Autobots fly?" She asked us with a confused look on her faceplate.

Tana nodded quickly. "Yeah, I think you might be the only one who can! That is so awesome!" Tana then smiled before going back up to Pandimala. "Nothing wrong with that. It just makes you awesome!"

Pandimala smiled and spun in a circle for us to see her wings. "I love my wings and I can wait to start flying. I bet it is going to be a lot of fun."

My processor then went back to the prank before I said, "Hey 'Mala." She looked at me and I only then realized that I gave her a nickname. I hoped that she would like it.

"Yeah?" She asked still keeping her smile.

Phew! That meant that she liked it. "Want to help us prank Joint and Blockade? We do it all the time and they think it is funny."

'Mala's smile widened before she said, "Yeah it sounds like a lot of fun bots."

So, with Pandimala's help, we finished setting up the trap before moving back to the ground and Zarron dealt us all into another game of go sharkticon. "Got any Prime's 'Mala?" I asked our new family member.

She looked at her hand before shaking her helm. "Sorry Vox. Go sharkticon." Pandimala hadn't stopped smiling since we told her that we thought that her being a triple changer was cool. I guess all she needed was some friends and now we were seeing her true self…and it was awesome!

"Tana, do you have any Magnus'?" Pandimala asked her.

We all laughed as Tana's faceplate fell. "Oh come on. Why does everybot always guess my cards?" She then begrudgingly handed Pandimala said card before Pandimala laid down the pair. Tana then turned to me and asked, "Vox…got any nines?"

Unfortunately for her, I shook my helm. "Sorry Tana, no nines on my end."

"Seriously?" Tana whined before she picked up her card.

However, before Zarron could go, we all heard a click as the door opened and the trap activated. A nano-click later, I heard Joint and her bondmate, Blockade, yelp as the pink and purple paint fell from the ceiling and covered them. Hey, it was a simple prank but it was so much fun!

The four of us fell to the ground laughing as Joint and Blockade wiped the excess pain off their helms before Blockade spoke. "Well, I'm glad that the four of you are having a good time." He then turned around. "I had a feeling that we would be getting a surprise so you all are lucky that I put your energon on the side table out here." We then stood up and I showed Pandimala to the table before the four of us sat.

Blockade and Joint soon joined us and put the energon on the table. The four of us grabbed a cube each and, as we started to drink, Blockade turned to Pandimala. "It's really nice to meet you Pandimala. I'm Blockade and I am Joint's bondmate."

Once 'Mala was done taking a drink, she set her cube down. "It's nice to meet you too Mr. Blockade."

Mr.? Guess she was used to being polite around the adults. But, we knew that Blockade didn't like to be called Mr. and so he would correct her. "Please, Pandimala, just call me Blockade."

Pandimala hesitated before nodding and taking another sip of her energon. After a few clicks, Joint looked at us and I knew what she was going to say. She asked us this every time we got someone new in our family. "Younglings, if you all wouldn't mind, would you like to tell us what you would like to be when you become adults?"

Zarron nodded and started us off. "When I get older, I really want to be a scout." Even though he knew that he was going to have the frame of a cyber-ninja, Zarron had his spark set on being a scout and there was no way that he was going to be convinced otherwise. It was his big dream.

Tana was practically bouncing in her seat while Zarron said what he wanted and, after he was done, Tana immediately got her wish out. "I really really really want to be a great warrior! Joining the Guardians is my dream!"

I saw a confused look on Pandimala's faceplate. Did she not know who the Guardians were? I thought everybot heard stories about them growing up? "The Guardians are an elite group of warriors who work outside of the chain of command in the Autobots." Blockade explained.

Pandimala then showed a look of understanding and nodded. Now, it was my turn and so I smiled before saying, "When I get older, I really want to be a great intelligence agent. I want to know all that there is to know so I can help my friends and family."

We all then turned to Pandimala as she smiled. "Well, I have given this a lot of thought so when I get older I really really want to be a Prime so I can lead my own team and help the Autobots however I can." Wow, she wanted to be a Prime! That was going to be a lot of work for her but I had a feeling that she was going to be able to do that.

"You know," Blockade started, "you four could make your very own team with those kind of goals."

My optics widened as what he said entered my thoughts. He was right and all we would really be missing was a medic, but not every team had a medic. And, even if we got new members for our team, the four of us would still be together. "That way we can always have each other's backs!" Tana yelled excitedly.

It was a surprise that she hadn't fallen off her seat yet.

But, I nodded at her statement. "That's right, because the four of us are more than just friends and comrades,"

Panidmala then took over. "We are a family."

* * *

 **Young Tana: Yes we have a new family member! *bounces off the walls...almost literally***

 **Young Zarron: *sighs* Tana, you seriously need to calm down. How many energon goodies have you had?**

 **Young Tana: *pauses and shrugs* Don't know.**

 **Young Pandimala: *confused* Is she always like this?**

 **Yougn Vox: *nods slowly* Yes and we are starting to learn that it can be spread.**

 **Authoress: *smiles* Aren't you four just the cutest?**

 **All: *turn and look at Autoress with a look that says they are planning a prank***

 **Authoress: ...Uh-oh. *runs***

* * *

 **AN: And here is the next chapter! I hope you all liked it! I know that I did. Little kids are so adorable! And poor Pandimala, Tana scared her so bad that she had to go and hide! *Zarron helm-slaps Tana in the distances* Next chapter...well, I can't really say much about it yet but it will be time skipped to them about to go live at the academy and meeting some new bots (some old and new faceplates for you all) and I hope that you all stick around! I am leaving for spring break today and the computer will not be coming with me. So, that will be a week that I will be unplugged. I hope to update the next chapter of Reawakened Revolution when I come back next weekend. Until then though, please leave a review...even to say hello.**

 **Well, until next time, TTYL! *runs to make sure that Tana does not kill Zarron***


	3. Having to Say Goodbye

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.**

* * *

 **AN: This is being re-uploaded because it didn't go through right the first time. XD**

* * *

 **Pandimala: Does this mean that we are older now?**

 **Authoress: Yes it does. However, now we can start building up for the real excitement of the story. *evil smirk***

 **Vox: You know, I hate it when you do that evil smirk. That doesn't bode well for any of us.**

 **Tana: No kidding! Stop it right now! *panicking***

 **Zarron: *helm slaps Tana* Calm down Tana.**

 **Tana: *growls at Zarron* Make me! *tackles Zarron***

 **Authoress: *looks pointedly at Pandimala and Vox***

 **Pandimala:...I'm not stopping them.**

 **Vox: *shakes helm* Don't look at me like that. They are big bots now. Let them sort it out. They won't maim each other. *Tana's morningstar comes out as does Zarron's scimitars*...much.**

 **Authoress: *facepalms but isn't making way to stop them either***

* * *

Ch. 2: Having to Say Goodbye

 **Joint's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

A sigh escaped my vocals as I stared down at my hot cube of low-grade. The stellar cycles had flown by so fast that I couldn't believe that this solar cycle was already here. It felt like, just the previous solar cycle, I had four rambunctious younglings chasing each other through the kitchen or huddled together in a dark corner of the living room scheming their next prank idea.

But, that was all going to come to an end this solar cycle. No longer would I hear the laughter of younglings echoing in my home. No, those younglings that I cherished so much were now grown and, as was law during these times, my four darlings were going to be sent to the Autobot Academy where they would be trained to fight against the Decepticons.

However, while I knew that was what they wanted, it was going to be hard to let them go. However, as much as it would hurt me to let them go, I knew that they were going to do amazing work for the Autobot cause and it was going to be due to their hard work. Each one of my now grown charges had worked diligently and meticulously on the skills that they would need for their chosen dream career.

"Joint, are you alright?" I turned when I heard my bondmate and smiled when he walked up to me.

"Yes, just a little spark broken." My answer to him was honest. I then glanced toward the stairs. "They've become such a part of our lives that it is going to be hard to watch them leave home to continue after their dream careers."

Blockade then sat down next to me and pulled me in so I was leaning against his shoulder. "Come now Joint, this isn't goodbye forever, now is it? We can go and visit them and I am sure that we will see them around." I nodded as he let out a chuckle, his chassis vibrating as he did so. "And trust me sweetspark, I have a feeling that those four are going to rock Cybertron to its core."

Our four young charges had grown into fine bots and I knew that they were going to be great. I just needed reassurance from Blockade that I would see them again. While I wanted my four charges to reach for the galaxies, I didn't want them to reach so far that they might forget where they came from. I think that would hurt most of all.

Tana had started training as soon as she was able to use her mods, which with her determination was not long at all. Thankfully for her, I had contacts from my solar cycles in active duty with my team, Team Galaxy, and I had been able to convince one of my friends from another team to come and train her. That friend, called Kradox, was very dedicated to Tana's training and made sure that she was way more than ready to get through boot camp.

To describe Tana, I would say that she was slightly taller than the average femme with broader shoulders. She was almost full grown as it was and she was just about half a helm taller than I was, and I was almost the height of Councilmech Alpha Trion. Her main mods consisted of a flail that would replace her left servo and a morning star that would replace her right. I remember how happy she was that she had such versatile weapons that would help her to become a warrior. Zarron, on the other servo, was not so happy because she was in the middle of helm-slapping him for helm-slapping her when her morning star came out. Tana had gone to apologize by placing her left servo on his back but then her flail came out and whacked him to the floor.

Speaking of Zarron, he had grown into a very fine two-wheeler mech. If I had had to describe his looks in one sentence, I would say that he reminded me of the cyber-ninjas in height and build. Tall and lean but with good endurance to take hits. Out of my four charges, though, he was actually the shortest.. His mods consisted of two scimitars that were kept on his back, which he knew about, and to all our surprise his secondary mod was consisted of stasis darts that would come out of compartments in his wrists.

…Blockade had been whining to me earlier that solar cycle about taking a nap. Zarron just expedited it slightly.

To help Zarron learn the tricks of becoming a great scout, Blockade had dug into his own contacts and had asked a red and neon blue speed car mode femme called Nightingale to help Zarron train. At first, Zarron had been slightly concerned about having a femme train him but, after some special training, Zarron was completely dedicated to his training with her. With Nightingale training him, Zarron had made leaps and bounds in his training. He used it to help Vox with his training in intelligence.

Vox had grown into a very fine mech and I don't think that I could be any prouder in him than I already was…of course he might just get even better and surprise me. The car mech was the second tallest out of our four charges and he worked very hard to get as far as he had. For his mods, he had two knives that he would use simultaneously when he could and he had a long rifle that strapped to his back to use at long range. His instructor was very efficient at teaching Vox to use his mods as well as his work in information gathering.

For Vox's trainer, I had asked my teacher to ask some of his contacts for help and, thankfully, the old mech came through with a bot called Beatdrop. The mech was tall and lanky, probably just half a helm taller than Vox was now, and he had a very relaxed appearance. But, from what Vox seemed to get from his training sessions with the bot, Vox was hiding a master craft processor in his helm. It wasn't long before I was having Vox practice by setting up protective shielding on my personal photos. No other bot was allowed to see those and I didn't want anybot to keep trying to see them.

…They were embarrassing.

Lastly though, was Pandimala. I still remembered that solar cycle when Ultra Magnus had brought her to my home and she had been so nervous. I hadn't understood how the femme could be that nervous to be staying in the housing. However, Ultra Magnus had later explained that he had found Pandimala escaping from Kaon. That made her fear much more understandable. Thankfully, she had overcome her fearful stage and had grown into a very confident femme who I could see becoming a Prime. Pandimala Prime. It had a nice ring to it.

For her mods, she had two broadswords that she kept in her subspace and, of course, her cannons. However, I had to hold back a chuckle as I remembered how we all had discovered how special her cannons were. The six of us had been at the firing range practicing with all their instructors but, for some reason, Pandimala's cannons were refusing to fire when she wanted them to. Warpath, her battle trainer, and been standing in front of her and was trying to help her fix them. Pandimala, well, she never liked failing anyone and had been in a state of panic.

Of course, that panic had grown even worse when the fire came out of her cannons. Her mods must have been unsure how to switch between her actual ammo and her fire and so had gotten stuck. Pandimala's panic allowed her systems to make the choice of fire. Since Warpath was standing in front of her, he was hit full force with the fire and had to stop to put them out. Again, Pandimala went into a panic but, instead of firing off fire, her cannons released beams of ice that froze Warpath up to just above his cannon.

Poor Pandimala was a panicking mess after that and I had Vox and Nightingale help her out of the range while the rest of us worked on de-thawing Warpath. It took us about ten minutes and, once he was un-thawed, we had to convince Pandimala to come back inside and she apologized repeatedly to Warpath. Thankfully, the war veteran had laughed it off and said that they were just going to have to train harder. She did just that and, thankfully, she was able to learn how to control her attacks.

For learning to use her alt modes, Warpath was only able to help her with her tank mode. He seemed to enjoy having a student who was so dead set on supporting the Autobot cause in the fight against the Decepticons. However, while he seemed to enjoy his classes with Pandimala, he could not help her learn how to fly. As far as I knew, no other Autobot could fly and that would create a problem for helping Pandimala with her training. So, I had called Ultra Magnus to see if he could help me out with that.

Thankfully, he could in the form of an old neutral acquaintance of his that usually lived off world. The bot's name was Skyfire and he was quite mysterious. Even as far as flying neutrals went he was. I only saw him when he would come by the house to pick up Pandimala for her flying lessons and when he dropped her off again. I wasn't exactly trusting of the flier but Ultra Magnus trusted him and so I had to. He might even care about Pandimala more than Blockade and I did so I knew he wouldn't put her life in any sort of danger.

Blockade and I jumped as a large thud sounded from upstairs before we relaxed again. "Seems like someone's having issues packing. Wonder who it is?" Blockade questioned as he glanced up toward the ceiling.

"Well if they were raised by you two then it could be any of the four of the bots that we are here to pick up."

I jumped and Blockade and I stood and turned to stare at the owner of the voice. When my optics locked onto two figures in the doorway of my kitchen, I smiled before saying, "Well, it took you two long enough to show up. I thought we would have to escort our charges to the Academy lodgings ourselves."

 **Vox's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

"Tana, you idiot if you drop everything you try to pack like that you won't be able to bring anything to the Academy with you." Zarron lectured Tana, like usual, as the four of us packed up the last of our belongings.

This solar cycle was the one that we had been dreaming of since we were all little. Finally, we were going to be enrolled into the academy. I could barely wait. I knew, from my training with Beatdrop, that we would have to go through a one stellar cycle long boot camp basic training, where most bots would receive their names on the first solar cycle, and then after that we would continue training at the camp until we tested into our specialized fields.

For me, that meant that I had to impress one of the investigative branches of Autobot intelligence so they might take me on as one of their own. Then, I would train at whatever branch would take me until I was picked up by a team or assigned to a team. However, I hoped that the other three around me would excel enough in their fields so, by the time I was ready to join a team, I would be able to join my fellow family members in a team of our own…with Pandimala as our Prime.

I flinched as I heard Tana's servo slap Zarron on the back of the helm. It should be a common sound but it seemed just as fresh the millionth time as it did the very first time when we were younger. "Shut up Zarron and let's finish packing." Tana laughed before grabbing her weapon cleaning kit and putting it in her subspace.

"Hey," I turned to Pandimala, who was facing her berth. She sounded worried as she started to move all the items around her bed. "have you guys seen Mr. Lunor? I had him out last night cycle but I can't seem to find him now."

Ah, the elusive Mr. Lunor. She had been in possession of the stuffed moon for as long as I remembered and it was one of the few things that Pandimala had that I didn't know the background on. That, and a set of stacking blocks were the only items that Pandimala would not tell us where she got them. Sure, she would say that she got them when she was really young, but that was as much as she would tell us.

We all knew that she was rescued from the battlefield by Ultra Magnus the day before she came to live with us and, while I didn't know much else about her past, I knew that I would trust her no matter what.

True, in the beginning of her time living with us, she was jittery, nervous, very formal, and just never seemed to fully trust us, we all eventually grew closer to her and she became one of my most trusted friends. It didn't matter now what sort of past she had, I would always respect her and trust her. We were family and nothing was going to change that.

In answer to 'Mala's question though, "I think I saw him in-between the top right corner of your berth and the wall. You were tossing around last night and woke me and I thought I saw him go in there."

Pandimala immediately looked in the corner I suggested and she sighed in relief and, after a few nano-clicks, she stood back up straight with Mr. Lunor in her servos. "Thanks Vox. Not sure what I would do without you all." She laughed her response as she placed Mr. Lunor in her subspace.

"Probably lose your cannons." Tana laughed as she turned toward us. She must have finished packing.

Of course, the rest of us weren't far behind her and we all turned to face each other. As we stood in that circle, I remembered all the adventures that had brought us to this moment and, I knew that this was just the beginning of many more exciting adventures that we were sure to get in.

"This is it everyone." Pandimala suddenly said with a sigh. "After we leave here, we are officially cadets in the Autobot army." I could see her servos shaking in anticipation and I knew that the rest of us weren't far behind her.

"Vox," I turned to Zarron as he addressed me. "what do you know about where we are staying? Are they going to split us up?"

Shaking my helm, I could give them a somewhat positive answer. "From the information that I could get from Beatdrop, we are going to share a room for tonight but, after our introduction to the rest of our team for the next six months, we will be sharing living quarters with our fellow cadets."

I went to say more when a voice from downstairs stopped me. "Are you four going to get down here sometime this millennium or what?" That was Blockade. Guess that meant that our escorts were here. According to Blockade and Joint, there were some bots who actually tried to avoid going to boot camp and so the Council had to have escorts go to each eligible bot's housing and bring them to the Academy boot camp grounds.

"We're coming!" Zarron yelled down before he led the way out of the door. Tana followed right behind him and I went behind her. Finally, Pandimala brought up the rear of our little column as we made our way down the stairs. This was it. No going back now.

 **Pandimala's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

When I got down the stairs, I immediately studied the bots that were next to Blockade and Joint. The first was a law enforcement mech who was black and white and had dark blue optics. I could see a scar on his right side and, from here, I could see that he at least had a pistol weapon on him. But, since he was an Autobot, I knew he wasn't bad.

Next to him and now studying us was a silver mini-bot car femme with black markings. She seemed really small to me but I knew that was just because I was a triple changer and that was going to make me taller than most bots I met. Frag, the last time that I saw Ultra I was almost a whole helm taller than he was. But, from the look in her optics, I could tell that she was very skilled and it would probably not be a good idea to say anything about her height until I got some training at the academy.

"Glad you four could make it down here." Joint laughed as we made a semi-circle around the table where Join, Blockade, and the two new bots were sitting.

Zarron took the opportunity to respond for us. "Sorry Joint but Tana was being as klutzy as normal."

 **Bang!**

And there was Tana's responding helm slap. I was glad that things hadn't changed in all our stellar cycles together as friends and family. "You're still not funny Zar." Tana frowned at Zarron before she turned to the new bots.

"So," And now it was Vox's turn and I was hoping that he had something a little more enlightening to say than Tana and Zarron. "I'm going to take a guess and say that you two are going to be escorting us to our housing at boot camp?"

Thank Primus he had his helm on straight at times like this. Normally Zarron liked to ask the questions like that as practice for being a scout but when he had a chance to tease Tana…well, Zarron couldn't pass up on that.

Blockade let out a laugh and said to the two new bots, "What'd I tell you two? These four are going to make this planet a very exciting place to live in the future." He then continued to laugh, which of course drew the rest of us into laughter. You couldn't _not_ laugh when Blockade laughed. It would probably feel wrong if I didn't.

Of course, Joint soon helm-slapped her bondmate before saying, "Blockade, we need to make introductions." She then shook her helm and smiled and motioned to the small silver femme. "This is Rev," Then, she motioned to the law enforcement mech, "and this is Breaker. As you have guessed Vox, they are here to escort you to the academy. We served on a team together with two other bots back during the end of the major fighting here on Cybertron."

"Really?" Now Zarron was full front invested in this conversation. "We know that Joint was the medical officer on her team and Blockade was the scout, but what did you two do?"

I was curious as well, especially given Rev's size, and I paid especially close attention as Rev started to answer. "Well, I was our intelligence agent. Wasn't good enough to get into any of the investigative branches of intelligence here on Cybertron but I could give the Decepticons a run for their credits." She let out a laugh at the end of her answer. Of course, that answer allowed me to understand the studying look she had given us when we had come down the stairs. She was gathering all the visual information on us as she could, as I have no doubt Vox did with the two of them when he caught sight of them.

Now, however, I had to pay attention again as Breaker started to answer. "Well, I wasn't anything special like the others on our team were, but I was one kick-aft of a warrior. Frag I remember pounding down on the 'Cons whenever I had a chance and, when I wasn't doing that, I was hitting that training room. That's where I was approached by the leader of the Guardians, Hinge, and asked to join them. But, I had to decline them."

"WHAT?" We all jumped when Tana suddenly yelled that with wide optics firmly locked on Breaker and her jaw-plate dangling like it was going to fall off at any click. I was surprised as well. The Guardians didn't ask many to join their ranks, as of right now they only had five total and they were all original, and hearing that Breaker was not only asked to join them, but also turned them down, was stunning. That was Tana's dream job and I could tell that she was struggling to understand why. Of course, I didn't know either but I had a feeling that he had his reasons. "Why would you turn down a chance to become a Guardian?"

Instead of being annoyed, or angry, at her question, Breaker let out a loud laugh before hooking one of his arms around Rev's shoulders and saying, "Well, I would have accepted, except for the fact that I bonded with this firecracker not long after our first tour of duty and I wouldn't want to be away from her."

Tana's mouth was open in an 'o' like form and we all let out a laugh at that. It was nice to be able to have these kinds of interactions. Honestly, if it wasn't for Vox, Tana, and Zarron, I wasn't sure how I would be like. They helped me break out of my nervous shell to become a fully confident femme who was ready to work her aft off to become a Prime…and I was sure that it was going to be a lot of work.

Once our laughter ended, I realized that we hadn't introduced ourselves. Also, it seemed like I wasn't the only bot in the room to have this thought. "So, you know who we are now. Why don't you four tell us your names and what you want to be once you are out of the Academy?"

Sounded reasonable enough and, as I thought she would, Tana stepped forward first. "My designation is Tana and it is my dream to become a great warrior and, if they find me worthy enough, I wish to become a Guardian."

For a brief nano-click, I saw a look of understanding flash in Breaker's optics and he must now be realizing why Tana had reacted so strongly to his saying that he had turned down an offer to join the Guardians. "The name's Zarron and, when I get out of the Academy, I am going to work tirelessly to become the best scout that the Autobots have ever had." I noticed Rev raise an optic ridge at that and study Zarron once more quickly. Guess she figured he would want to be a cyber-ninja, like everybot else thought when they met him. But, that was his dream and we were all going to work to make sure that he achieved that.

Next, Vox spoke from next to me. "I'm Vox and once I'm out of the Academy, I'm going to put in an application to the intelligence agencies here on Cybertron and see if I can't get into any of them."

While Rev looked surprised again, she actually asked a question this time. "Really? What agency do you want to get in the most?"

In return, Vos smiled and said, "Well, if I had a choice I guess I would want to work for the Cybertronian Bureau of Investigation. They do a lot to help keep our planet safe from the Decepticons and all of our other enemies and I would really want to be a part of that."

"Sounds like you know what you want." Rev responded to that before she turned to me. "And what about you? What's your name and what do you want to do when you get out of the Academy?"

I responded to her almost immediately and with no hesitation, though I did smile. "My name is Pandimala and what I wish to do most when I leave the Academy is to become a Prime and lead my own team in order to support the Autobot cause and all that it stands to serve and protect."

Rev's smile grew wide at my response and she kept optic contact with me while speaking to Joint. "Joint, you and Blockade have raised these four into fine Autobot Academy candidates. I'm quite surpr,"

The four of us cringed when Joint responded to that with a wrench throw to Rev's helm. Yeah, she had a habit of doing that if somebot tried to tease her. Guess that went for her old war team as well. "Watch it Rev. Remember that you have your stellar cycle checkup with me in thirty solar cycles." Breaker let out a chuckle at that. "And Breaker, I see you the solar cycle after that." His chuckling stopped abruptly.

To my surprise, his optics suddenly widened before he said, "As much fun as this reunion has been, we need you all to say goodbye. We need to get you all to your temporary housing in a cycle and it takes about fifty cycles to get to the boot camp from here."

My spark seized on itself when I heard those words and, as Blockade and Joint started with Joint and made their way down the line, I found myself becoming very sad. These were the mech and femme who, without asking questions about my past, brought me into their home and raised me so I would have this chance at becoming an Autobot. I owed them so much and now I had to say goodbye to them. This was not going to be easy and I could already feel myself shaking slightly in sadness.

I focused in front of me when Blockade stopped in front of me and looked up while smiling a sad smile. "Pandimala, I am going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too Blockade." I whispered to him as I reached down and gave him a hug.

"Pandimala, I want you to promise me something." I paused and held the hug as he continued to whisper. "Promise me that no matter what troubles you may face, or trials that might stand in your way, that you will never change who you are. They will try and break you, see if you will crack under pressure, and you must promise me that you will not succumb to their tests." He then hugged me tighter. "Promise me 'Mala."

I returned the tightness of his hug while whispering back. "I promise to you, Blockade, that they will never break me. I will never change who I am…Never."

After another click, we pulled away and I turned to see that Joint was now standing in front of me, tears in her optics as she stared up at me. "Pandimala I remember the first solar cycle I met you. You were so small that you were the one looking up to me. Now…now you are a grown femme who is ready to face this world, and any other world that you may end up on." She then paused to compose herself before she said, "This house is going to be so quiet without you here…without any of you."

Bending over, I pulled her into a hug. "This isn't goodbye forever Joint. Remember, this is only a new beginning of our lives…not the end of our past. I'll make sure we call as often as we can."

She nodded and I went to pull away but she had other ideas and pulled me closer. "Pandimala," She was whispering this so softly that I was sure that only I could hear it. "I know that you are the youngest out of the four of you…even if it isn't by much. However, they look up to you as a role model…as a leader of sorts. Please…make sure you watch out for the others and help keep them safe. Boot camp doesn't always bring the best of bots to its doors and some may try to bully the others. Protect them."

While I knew that the others could fight their own battles, I would never leave them to fight one alone. We were a family and family stood together always. "I promise Joint. You have my word."

We then parted and stood before Joint went to stand by Blockade before saying, "Well, I guess it's time for you all to get going. Don't want you to be late for your first night." She then paused. "But make sure you all call sometimes."

With one last group hug, the four of us followed Breaker and Rev to the boot camp. The trip wasn't terribly long or difficult but I found myself worried. Joint's words about boot camp not bringing out the best of bots were bouncing in my helm with every step that I took and I was concerned. How would the bots at the camp treat me if they knew that I was a triple changer? So far, I was the only flying Autobot that I knew of and that made me very different. However, it was a challenge that I was going to have to overcome.

In what almost seemed like no time at all, we arrived at our temporary quarters that we were going to be sharing with each other. Rev and Breaker informed us to set our internal alarms for zero five thirty since the first day of boot camp began at zero six fifteen and we would need time to find the training grounds. They then left with promises to tell Joint and Blockade that we had made it safely to our lodgings.

While the four of us unpacked what we would need for the night, I thought back to my worries and realized what I was going to do. But, I wouldn't do that until tomorrow morning after I woke up. Until then, we needed to get some recharge. We were going to need it if tomorrow was even half as bad as the stories that Joint and Blockade used to tell us.

"Night everybot." Tana started as she laid on her berth and started to shut down her optics. The others followed her suit and did the same.

Finally, it was my turn. "Goodnight everybot. See you all…in the…morning cycle." Soon, my optics started to feel heavy and I was eventually lulled into the oblivion of recharge.

* * *

 **Pandimala: *excited* Oh my Primus we are at the boot camp! I am so excited for the next chapter! *bouncing off the walls***

 **Authoress: *frowns* Okay, who let Pandimala into the energon goodies?**

 **Vox: *drinking premium hi-grade that was next to the energon goodies* What? I have no idea how she got it.**

 **Authoress: *frowns in disbelief* Sure.**

 **Vox: *smirks and watches the destruction that he has unleashed***

* * *

 **AN2: And here is this next chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it because I really enjoyed writing it! Looks like some changes have been made from the original story! I am really enjoying writing this story in the first person view of the characters instead of, like the original, the third person. This gives me a great way of showing you an in depth view of the story and I know that, as the story progresses, that this will become even more prevalent.**

 **Back to the story, next chapter is going to have the first solar cycle at boot camp! I am really excited for that and I know that it is going to be full of surprises (and one very annoying big chinned mech who is a royal pain in the aft). Some things will probably be changing from the original story but I will be keeping some things the same next chapter.**

 **Well, I guess that's all that i have to say. Please leave a review, even if it is to say hi, so I know that I'm not stuck here alone with Pandimala and the others. Until next time though, TTYL! *sings about sailing the open sea in 1607 for the Virginia Company***


	4. Boot Camp 101

**AN: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend. :D**

* * *

 **Vox: Wow...you are actually updating quickly.**

 **Pandimala: *impressed* Yeah, I thought that the Pit would have to freeze over twice before that happened again.**

 **Authoress: *frowns* You know, you two aren't as funny as you think.**

 **Zarron: Of course they aren't. *pauses* They are even funnier.**

 **Authoress: *sighs* I can't win no matter what.**

* * *

Ch. 3: Boot Camp 101

 **Pandimala's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

A groan escaped my vocals as my internal alarm blared in my helm. I didn't like early mornings and, after glancing at my internal alarm, I saw that it was set for zero five thirty. Why was I getting up this early? I was pretty sure that we didn't have a prank set up and I had stopped intense training with Warpath and Skyfire almost forty solar cycles ago. So, that meant that training was not the reason that I was being pulled awake by my late-night self. Since nothing was coming to processor, I went to activate the snooze program for my internal alarm. I could surely recharge for another ten clicks or so.

Thwack!

My optics immediately onlined and I bolted up when I felt the force of a servo helm slap the back of my helm. What was going on? I turned, still half in recharge, and I was surprised to see Zarron standing there and motioning for me to hurry up. "Zar…give me five more clicks." I groaned but made no move to lay back down. Once Zarron hit you, then he would make sure that you were up and moving…unless he said that you could lay back down. But, since that didn't happen very often, then I was pretty sure that I was going to have no other choice then to get up. Hopefully whatever he was waking me up for would be worth it.

"'Mala, you are impossible to deal with in the morning." Tana laughed and it was only then that I noticed that I was the _only_ one that was not up and moving. What was going on? Now I knew that I was forgetting something but, like always, I was not very logically awoken in the early morning.

Thankfully, Vox came to my rescue. "'Mala, we are at the Academy. This is our going to be our first solar cycle of boot camp."

"Yeah, unless you take forever getting ready." Tana laughed out to finish off his explanation.

…I was awake now.

"Frag I have to get ready!" I yelled as I jumped out of my temporary berth and ran to the wash racks that we all shared. Why was I always the last one up?

Didn't matter. Once the water was running, I grabbed my rag and immediately went to work in making sure that I was completely clean, wings and all. I couldn't leave a single particle of filth on my chassis. It wasn't because I was a clean freak…I loved to get dirty when I had to. But, this solar cycle I wanted to be at the top of my ability to show the instructors at the Academy that I would be a large help to them.

…I paused for a click, letting the hot water rinse my chassis, as that last thought stayed in my helm. No…I wouldn't be at top ability. I didn't want the instructors to raise me in the ranks solely because I was a triple changer. That I could fly when other Autobots couldn't. I wanted to excel because of what I was capable of doing, and not because of what I was created to do. Thankfully, I knew exactly what I was going to do to make sure that did not happen.

Once I turned the water off, I made sure to dry off thoroughly, especially my wings, and set my towel to the side before activating my programming for my flight capabilities. After a few clicks, my wings twitched slightly in protest before the slid into compartments underneath my back plating and I felt covers slide over my thruster openings in my pedes. To make sure that I did not get promoted due to being a triple changer, I would hide my flying capabilities for this first solar cycle. I knew, from the studying we all did when we were younger, that the first solar cycles of boot camp were usually very rigorous. It was designed to weed out those who wouldn't make the cut on the battlefield. After the first solar cycle, then my wings would stay out.

When I walked into the other room with the others, I noticed all of their optics move to my wings…well, where my wings were supposed to be. I rarely hid my wings and this would be the first time in thirty stellar cycles that I did so. The last time I had to hide them was during one solar cycle of training wit Warpath when he wanted me to hide them while we worked so I would know how to fight if I didn't have my wings to gather information about the air around me.

"Pandimala…why did you put away your wings?" Tana asked me with a concerned look on her faceplate.

I knew that I had to ease their worry quickly. So, I answered her with a smile as I checked my two swords. "Don't worry about it bots. I just hid them for the solar cycle. I wanted the instructors to be impressed with me and not the fact that I can do a couple of loops in the air."

Tana looked like she wanted to argue with me but Zarron helm slapped her before he said, "That sounds like a smart idea 'Mala. It's…just weird not seeing your wings. They are a part of you and it's just…odd."

Well, Tana punched Zarron's shoulder in repayment for the helm slap before she sighed in defeat while checking her morning star. "Yeah, fine. I guess it makes sense now that you explained it. Most bots on Cybertron would look at your wings and think that you would have an advantage using them. Better to keep it on the quiet side for now."

She then turned to her berth to check her flail, so it wouldn't dangle while she checked it, and Zarron moved back to his berth to check his wrist compartments for his darts. I replaced my blades once I was sure that they were secure and removed my shoulder cannons to get a closer look at them. Warpath had taught me how to remove them so I could make sure that they weren't clogged. This was especially important after we found out that I could shoot ice and fire out of them. The ice might remain in the chambers and damage it or the fire could damage the inside. While I had coatings on my cannons to help prevent this I still checked them just in case.

"You do look a little weird." Vox commented as he stood next to me and started to look over his rifle that was normally on his back. "Of course, you look a little weird normally."

I let out a laugh and nudged him to the side a little while saying, "You would know all about that Vox." He laughed at my return quip and the two of us worked together on completing our self-inspections. It was nice working next to Vox.

As he returned his rifle to his back and I replaced my shoulder cannons, I couldn't help but remember that first solar cycle when we met. Primus I had been so scared. When I was at home still, I had never met another bot even close to my age before. I was alone and I was used to being near carrier and sire. But, after everything that happened the solar cycle before, I was stepping into a whole new world. This was something that I was going to have to get used to. But, I had been scared and then Tana had, what I thought, charged at me so I had evaded her and hid under the table. At that nano-click, I had just wanted Ultra Magnus to come and take me away again.

But then Vox had come to the table. He sat down in front of the table but he let me get used to him on my own terms. He was a really great friend…even before I knew he was. With his help, I was able to meet Tana and Zarron and that was the solar cycle that the three of us started our friendship. Without Vox, I wasn't sure that would have been possible. But, that didn't happen and we had to focus on boot camp.

"We need to leave now!" Tana yelled in a panic.

I jumped at her yell before looking at my internal clock. Immediately, panic set in when I saw the time was zero five fifty-nine. We only had sixteen clicks to get to the training grounds and, from the information we got last night, they were twenty away walking normal. "Scrap we're late!" I yelled as we all ran out the door.

 **Unknown/Remcy's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

Nine, four, two, one. These were the four numbers that were racing through my processor as I stood at attention next to four other bots who would be a part of my boot camp. They seemed nervous as well and, given the reason for the numbers, I didn't blame them.

Nine were the total number of trainees that were supposed to be here. Four were the number of us trainees still unaccounted for. Two were the number of minutes left before the four other trainees who were supposed to be here were late. One, finally, was in reference to our instructor who looked ready to murder each and every one of us.

Our instructor, who my sire and carrier told me a lot about, was an old war veteran called Kup. He had a cygar in his mouth and I could tell by the way he was smoking it that he was getting angry. Hopefully I wouldn't get on his bad side like the four of us who were close to late were going to be. I felt sorry for them and hoped, for their sake and maybe ours was well, depending on how Kup reacted to late bots, that they showed up soon.

"Where are those fragging housing bots?" Our instructor grumbled as we all stood there waiting.

Two bots who were on his sides, who he had introduced as assistants who would one solar cycle have his job, looked to each other before the femme, who was colored tan with light blue optics, spoke. "They may have gotten lost. Their temporary housing for last night cycle was on the outskirts of the academy compound." Kup looked like he was about to answer when the ground began to shake.

As much as I wished that saying the ground was shaking was simply a figure of speech…it wasn't.

At first, the vibration was soft and I thought that there may be some vibration from construction. They were doing some near the Academy grounds and so I thought that maybe that was where the vibrations were coming from. But, as the seconds ticked by, the vibrating grew stronger and stronger. I felt, for the first time since I used to watch scary vid movies with my sire when carrier went to bed, fear race through me as the vibrations grew stronger and stronger. What was coming? I glanced at my internal clock and saw that the four missing bots had one click to get in formation before they were counted as late.

"We are not going to be late so help me Primus!"

Everyone turned to the east and I felt my jaw plate drop when my optics landed on the group of four bots who were now in view. In the front of the group were two mechs. One was a lithe two-wheeler who was black with blue flame decal and next to him was a tall car mech that was colored dark blue and dark gold. Behind them was a silver vehicle femme with black stars on her shoulders. She had wide shoulders and I could tell from how she moved that she was really racing to get here.

However, it was the final femme that caused my jaw plate to drop. She was a giant! I had seen Ultra Magnus a couple times in my life, due to my sire's work in cyber-engineering, and I was sure that this femme was even taller than he was! As the four of them slowed and fell in line beside the yellow green femme, who had told me last night cycle, when we had talked, that she wanted to be a medic, I took in the final femme better. The tall tank femme was black with lime green tips on her cannons, digit tips, and the nodes on the top of her helm. She had a light gray faceplate and, to my biggest surprise, she had lime green optics that were shining…probably from the run that the four of them just had.

But, another surprise was that they were already at attention and intaking less rapidly than I expected. These four must have had training before boot camp and they were already in shape. That would be a good thing for our boot camp training. Glancing at my internal clock, I was relieved that there were still ten nano-clicks to spare.

"Hmph." Our instructor, Kup, said as walked up to us all and, more specifically, the four bots that had cut it close. "You all like to cut it close huh? Better make sure you don't let this happen again."

"Yes sir." The tank femme and the dark blue and dark gold mech responded for their group. Guess they were the spokes bots.

Kup looked them over for a few clicks before he took a drag from his cygar and blew out the excess toward the four new bots. After the smoke dissipated, Kup moved to the front of the line where the yellow femme with the designed helm and stared at her before he said, "Alright, what can you do?"

I could see confusion on the new bots' faceplates and I was surprised that they looked this way for a click. But, then my memory chips caught up with me and I remembered that those four bots already had designations and I was curious as to what they were.

The yellow femme looked up confidently before saying, "I can clone a bots mods if I make contact with them."

Kup nodded and seemed to study her before saying, "Hmm…you'll be Elita One. You better work constantly to earn that." She nodded, though I saw nervousness in her optics as Kup moved to the next bot. It was the red and blue mech who had decent height. From when we talked, I knew that he wanted to become a Prime and lead his own team. "What about you?" The blue and red bot showed that he had some grapplers, an energon ax, and a coolant foam that could probably put out fires. Our instructor seemed stuck because he asked the red and blue bot another question. "What is your goal for going through the Academy?"

The red and blue bot stood at attention and said, "Sir, I wish to one solar cycle become a Prime and lead my own team."

The old bot studied the red and blue mech, though this time there was a strange look in his optic that I couldn't identify, before he finally spoke. "I believe that you will be called Optimus. If you get out of my boot camp in one piece, I think you might just make your goal." Wow. Encouragement on the first solar cycle of camp. That had to mean something amazing.

Our instructor then stopped in front of the big chinned blue and orange mech next to me and looked him up and down. "What sort of mods do you have and what do you wish to be when you get out of here?"

From next to me, the big chinned mech brought out a lance and shield before saying, "Once I get through this, I'm going to work my way to being a Prime and eventually Magnus."

Pretty ambitious for a bot but who knew? Maybe he had the skills to get through. I only met him last night cycle and, even though first impressions weren't important, you didn't judge from them. But, from how he was continuing to act, this big chinned bot was really pompous and I really hoped that he didn't become Prime…or I wasn't on his team at the very least.

Kup grew a slight frown, only visible for half a nano-click, before he said, "You will be known as Sentinel. Stay on guard from your own pride and ambition and you should go far." Well, guess Kup liked to give advice.

I couldn't focus on that, however, as Kup came to stand in front of me. Nervousness flowed through my systems as he seemed to study me with a hard look. I didn't like being studied like that. Most bots my own age studied me like that. I liked to get information from anybot I could and I like to know things. In return, I didn't have many friends that I could say were really friends…actually, I didn't have any friends. This look that Kup was giving me was exactly how they would all look at me. Calculating, cold, and judging. It made me very uncomfortable.

"So, what are your mods and what do you want to be?" Kup asked me directly before taking a puff from his cygar.

Knowing that I had to respond to him quickly, I transformed my left arm into the cannon that I could replace it with and aimed it at a practice dummy before firing. Once that was done, I shifted it back to my regular servo before I turned both of my servos into blades. Then, I returned them back to my servos before I spoke. "It is my dream to become an intelligence officer once I finish my academy training sir." I then stood at attention and waited for him to respond.

Thankfully, he didn't wait long. "You'll be known as Remcy. Should be fitting if you can make anything out of your career goal." Remcy. My designation was Remcy. It sounded right and I was going to make sure that I earned it.

I then watched as Kup stopped in front of the yellow green femme next to me, and the last of us five that were here early. The femme seemed to be really nervous as Kup studied her and I could see that she was probably going to be the one to break first. Every class up to now had one that couldn't last boot camp and she seemed like she would be it. She was so nervous. It's a shame because I was sure she would be a fun bot to get to know.

"And you?" Kup asked the femme.

She seemed nervous and stood there for a nano-click before she transformed her left servo in a blaster before turning it back and then turned it into a scalpel before she changed her right one, to my utter surprise, into a buzz saw. She then changed both back before she spoke. "I…I really want to become a medic some solar cycle sir."

To my surprise, Kup's expression softened somewhat before he said, "I know you. You're the creation of Cryal and the offlined mech Diff…correct?" Wait, those were the two that were really famous for having a sparkling on their own and didn't get it from the well. Guess the yellow green femme next to me was that sparkling.

The femme nodded slowly. "Yes sir."

"He was a fragging good medic, your sire was." Kup said more to himself than anything before he straightened back up. "Alright then. You will be known as Balm. If you got even half of the medical programming that your sire had, then you will earn your name no problem."

Balm smiled hesitantly and nodded. "Thank…thank you sir."

Now I really focused as Kup moved to the first of the bots that had just arrived. The silver femme with black stars on her shoulders was just shorter than I was but she looked like she was strong and I could see confidence in her optics. "So now we are on you lot. Show me your mods, give me your designation, and tell me what you want to do…in that order."

"Yes sir." The femme responded before she transformed her right servo into a morning star, an impressive weapon, before she transformed it back and took out a blaster from her subspace. It wasn't large and would be easy for her to handle. Then, she put it back and held out her left servo before she transformed it into a…

"You have a flail mod? I don't see that often." Kup commented to himself.

"Ever since I have been created sir." She responded before she continued. "My designation is Tana and I want to become a strong warrior when I get out of the Academy. My biggest dream is to one solar cycle join the Guardians."

The Guardians? She was going to have to work even harder than most of us to get that goal. It had been hundreds of stellar cycles since the last bots were accepted into the Guardians, the twins Hindsight and Foresight, and that was the most exclusive group of warriors out there. It was easier to become a Wrecker than a Guardian.

Kup raised an optic ridge at her response but didn't say anything else as he moved to the next bot in line. It was the two-wheeler mech that looked like he would probably be joining the cyber-ninja school after boot camp. Looked like he would do good there. "What about you? I'm going to guess that you are going to be aiming for the cyber-ninja school when you leave." Guess Kup saw it as well.

To my surprise, the black two-wheeler with the blue flame decal let out a laugh before he started to show his mods. He pulled two scimitars off his back and gave them a twirl before he put them back and paused. "Sir, to show my other mod, I'll need to borrow an awake bot. I promise that what I'm about to do is non-lethal but a test dummy won't show the full potential of my mod. I have a shot that will reverse the effects for use in case of emergencies." He then pulled out a needle with a liquid in it that I didn't recognize.

What could this mech possibly be able to do to a bot? I stayed quiet, though, as Kup took the vial from the mech and scanned it before getting a curious look on his faceplate. "An adrenaline shot? Well, let's see what you can do." He then turned to his two assistants, who had moved closer, before motioning to the yellow car mech. "Boombox, come here so this cadet can show us what he can do."

Boombox, guess that was his designation, moved over to stand next to Kup before Boombox said, "Well, let's see what you can do cadet."

I felt nervous at the knowing looks Tana and the other two from their group gave each other before the mech flicked his right wrist and a small dart shot through the air at an incredible speed before it struck Boombox's neck cables. Instantly, Boombox's optics went dark and he fell over into stasis. He could shoot knockout darts? That was kinda scary. He was going to make a fragging scary cyber-ninja.

Kup knelt down next to Boombox and administered the adrenaline shot, which would wake him up, before he said, "Stasis darts. That will help on being a cyber-ninja for sure."

While Boombox woke up and started to stand up, the mech in front of Kup sighed. "Sir, my designation is Zarron and, I guess this will be a surprise to you, but I don't want to be a cyber-ninja. My dream for when I get out of boot camp is to become a scout."

Really? There were so many scouts out there that it was hard to get yourself recognized. This Zarron would have had better luck being noticed if he would have chosen to be a cyberninja. Our instructor seemed surprised as well, for he choked slightly on the drag of smoke he had just taken, before he said, "Really? Well, I guess you are going to have quite the challenge ahead of you then." Kup shook his helm as he went to the final mech of the group. He was the tallest besides the tank femme and he was a good helm taller than I was. "What about you?"

In return, the dark blue and dark gold mech took of a rifle off of is backplates and shot at the target in front of Elita, showing that he could actually use it, before he returned it and took out two long knives, though they weren't long enough to be classified as swords, and test swung both to show that he could use them, before he put them away and spoke. "My designation is Vox, sir, and when I finish here then I want to become an intelligence agent." Wow. He wanted to be the same thing I did. Maybe I would get to know him and we could work together in that goal. There were many branches of the intelligence work and I doubted that we wanted to be the same thing in intelligence.

"Well, you sure seem positive in yourself." Kup commented.

Vox was quick to respond. "Yes sir I am."

Our instructor paused and studied Vox. "Yes…I see that." Kup then moved to the final bot in our group and I was anxious to find out just who this giant femme was and what she could do. I mean, she had to have a ton of mods. War builds, like she was, usually did and they were usually powerful…very powerful. "You aren't what I was expecting." I was surprised when Kup started with that before he said, "Well, what do you have to do and say?"

The femme had a wide smile on her face, which seemed very strange on her, before she pulled out two huge broadswords and swung them around in her servos to show Kup that she could use them. "That's the melee weapons." That…was it? "For my cannons I'm going to need an extra practice dummy in front of me if you could sir." Wait…she didn't even have any blasters? What kind of war build was she? Something wasn't adding up but maybe this demonstration would show me why.

Kup studied her and said, "Not much for being a war build but let's see what else you can do." So he had the same thoughts I did. If I thought that the femme was going to look upset by his reaction then I would have been surprised when she just continued to smile. "Anvil, set up another test dummy for the cadet here."

The tan femme, who I was guessing was Anvil, nodded and moved one of the dummies over to stand near the one that was already in front of the tank femme. Once Anvil was out of the way, the tank femme lowered her cannons and set her pedes before firing a powerful shot from them. Well, shots since there were two cannons but the two shots seemed to merge together half way to the target to become an even bigger shot. The test dummy on the left didn't stand a chance.

Then, the war build paused for a nano-click and, while she did, I noticed her friends took a step back before Vox looked to us. "You all might want to take a step back."

Well, they knew her better than we did for now and so I wasn't going to ignore advice so I took two steps back and watched the femme. I noticed that pressure seemed to be building around her cannons and, after a click, she smirked and my jaw fell off its hinges.

…Well, not really but that is what I felt like after I watched a stream of fire come out of each cannon and engulf the extra test dummy that was there. Guess that was why she needed the extra one. It was really impressive that she was able to shoot fire out of her cannons. That would be pretty helpful during training here. I had to make sure that I got on her team.

"Very impressive." Kup stated as he blew out an out-take of smoke. "Optimus, use your coolant and,"

However, it seemed like the femme wasn't finished. "One more nano-click sir. I like to put out the fires that I start." That got some chuckles from her friends and I had a feeling that she must have a story to go with that saying.

Kup raised an optic ridge but didn't say a word as we all waited. Thankfully, the wait wasn't long but I was pretty sure that I was not going to be putting my jaw plate back in place any time soon. For, from her cannons, ice shot out and froze the burning dummy. Well, she did put out her own fires. I glanced at the other four that were here early with me and I saw that they all looked equally as surprised. Then, I glanced at our instructor but, instead of surprise, I saw worry. But, like the last time his expression changed, he didn't keep it on his faceplate for long before he returned to his neutral look. "Are you quite done now?"

Thankfully for my racing spark, the femme nodded with a smile. "Yes sir. My designation is Pandimala and, when I graduate from the Academy, I wish to become a Prime." She wanted to be a Prime? Well, with that kind of arsenal she may just have a chance. This Pandimala seemed like a femme that I should know.

Kup studied her for another nano-click before he said, "Alright cadets, you have thirty clicks to get to know each other. After that, then the real fun begins." He then turned back to Pandimala. "Cadet Pandimala, a private word." What did she do? I didn't notice anything wrong but she must have done something to have our instructor pull her aside already.

 **Balm's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I looked around nervously and saw that Remcy had gone over to talk to Zarron and Vox. Guess they were going to have a lot to talk about. Remcy had said that he wanted to work in intelligence and the bot Vox did as well and everybot knew that scouts and intelligence agents worked closely with each other.

"So you're Balm right?"

I jumped and let out a small nervous shriek when the voice suddenly addressed me and so I turned to see the other femme that was almost late, Tana, was standing in front of me with a smile. She looked intimidating but, honestly, she was a lot less so than the tank femme Pandimala. Now that femme was just terrifying.

Nodding, I held out my servo to the femme in front of me. "Th…that's right. You're Tana right?" Tana nodded slowly toward me. "It's nice to meet you. I hope we can be friends." I added at the end before covering my mouth. Most bots didn't like to meet others and have them assume that we were going to be friends. Well, me and my big mouth again. When I could get a sentence out without stuttering, I always ended up saying something stupid like…

A shriek came out of my vocals when Tana suddenly grabbed me in a giant hug and started to spin around in a circle. "You bet we are going to be friends! I can't wait to get to know you better!" She then continued to spin.

Wait…she didn't mind that I had said that? Most bots looked at me funny when I did that. But, this femme had been so accepting of the idea of being…friends. I smiled finally and looked at her. Yes, we were going to be friends. I was so excited for this that I forgot everything around me and gave her a hug as well.

Thwack!

"Tana stop smothering the poor femme."

A shriek escaped my vocals and I immediately let go of the warrior in training and saw, to my surprise, that the three mechs had joined us. Zarron, since his hand was still up by Tana's helm, was the one that I think helm slapped her.

Tana didn't take to well to that. "That's it Zarron you're going down." Then, to my horror, she lunged at Zarron and the two started fighting.

"Isn't anybot going to stop them!?" I asked out loud, but to no one in particular.

Laughter came from Vox, though I could see that Remcy was worried as well, before he walked closer to me and said, "Don't worry Balm. This happens almost every solar cycle. If it didn't, then I would be worried. They won't hurt each other much. We grew up together so we act like siblings a lot of the time." He then held out his servo to me. "The name's Vox just in case you didn't get it earlier. You are Balm right?"

I nodded slowly, though my optics never left Tana and Zarron as the wrestled on the ground. "Y…yeah that's me. How long do they normally go at this?"

Vox pointed to where Pandimala was talking with Kup before saying, "Usually when Pandimala over there steps in and separates them." He then sighed and put a servo against his forehelm. "I swear, those two act like sparklings at times."

Both Remcy and I looked over to the tank femme that Vox motioned to before Remcy asked a question, "So, that Pandimala...what is she like?"

Vox's smile faded slightly as he looked away from the fighting two and over to Pandimala. He seemed to study her for a nano-click before his smile came back. That made me feel better about what he was going to say. I was worried when his smile had faded. Maybe she was some kind of bully. "Pandimala? Well, she's one of the nicest bots that you're ever bound to meet. She's like a giant scraplet without any teeth. Well, no teeth if you are nice to her and her friends. The teeth come out if somebot messes with her friends."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. I figured that she would act like Sentinel did. He was very arrogant and prideful and I thought, given that she was a war build, that she would be like that as well. But, I guess first impressions were wrong.

"Really." Vox affirmed. "There was one time we were at a park and this bigger youngling started to pick on Zarron since he was so thin when we were younger. Before Tana and I even got close to help, Pandimala was there shoving the mech back. She might be the youngest out of the four of us, but she has always been taller than us. That older youngling booked it out of there so fast that he left skid marks behind him." Vox was laughing at this point. After a click, he calmed down and said, "But honestly, if you would have asked me if Pandimala would have turned out to be like this when I first met her, I would have laughed."

That confused me. Was she not always nice? "What do you mean?" Remcy asked before I could. "Did she used to be mean?"

Immediately, Vox shook his helm. "No, nothing like that. No, when Pandimala first came to the housing unit…well, she acted a lot like you do Balm." She acted…like me? "She was so nervous around all of us that I was surprised that we got her designation out of her. But then, Tana went and tried to give her one of her famous hugs."

"So it's n…not just me?" I was relieved to hear that. This was something that Tana normally did and that meant that she was really that nice of a bot.

"Yeah, Tana has always been one to hug first. I'm surprised that she let you two shake servos first." Vox commented before he continued his story. "Anyways, Pandimala was so scared that Tana was attacking her, instead of hugging her, that she dodged Tana before she sprinted and hid under the table. Confused the frag out of Tana too."

"Though that doesn't take much!" Zarron yelled during a pause in their fighting before Tana laid a hit on his jaw plate and he had to focus on the fight again.

I laughed while trying to picture a younger looking Pandimala hiding under a table and being afraid of Tana…of anything really. I couldn't help it. It also gave me hope. If someone who seemed as confident as the Pandimala that introduced herself was could have been, at one point in her existence, as nervous as I was, then maybe one solar cycle I could be confident as well.

"And I have you to thank for getting me out from under that table Vox."

Another shriek escaped my vocals and I jumped back slightly when I turned and noticed that Pandimala had, somehow, got over here without any of us noticing. I could say that because both Vox and Remcy jumped when she said that…though I was the only one that shrieked.

Vox, thankfully, was the first to vocalize a response. "Frag it Pandimala why do you have to be so sneaky? I still think it should be impossible for a bot as big as you are to walk around so quietly."

Pandimala let out a laugh, and I thought it sounded nice, before she said, "I do it just to keep you on the tips of your pedes Vox." She let out another laugh before she turned to the two of us and held out her servo. "Sorry for not getting over here sooner. I am Pandimala and I hope that we can become friends. I can already see you are getting there with Vox."

She wanted to be my friend? Maybe boot camp wasn't going to be as bad as I originally thought it was going to be. I had heard so many stories about mean bots coming to boot camp but, besides the big chin from last night and the yellow femme, she didn't act very nice though we hadn't actually talked yet, everybot seemed so nice and friendly.

Remcy took her servo first and shook it before smiling. "Nice to meet ya Pandimala. I'm Remcy. You're really tall you know that?"

I was nervous when Remcy was so blunt with commenting on her height and I was about to say something against that when Pandimala let out a laugh. "Yeah I know that. Makes it so I can access the better hiding places for my energon goodies so a certain warrior femme can't get to them so easy." She then turned to me and held her servo out to me.

Hesitantly, I took it before shaking it and saying, "It's…it's nice to meet you Panidmala. My designation is Balm and I really hope we can become friends." Scrap there I went again! I got lucky with Tana but I wasn't sure that,

"Sounds great!" Pandimala excitedly responded.

…Wow.

These housing bots…they were so nice and I found myself smiling back at Panidmala. We stayed like that for a few nano-clicks before we let go of each other's servo and Pandimala looked to the two wrestling bots. "Well, I better go break that up. We can't afford Zarron using one of his darts and putting Tana asleep. She wouldn't wake up in time and Zarron would be too stubborn to give her the antidote until the last click."

Pandimala then let out a sigh before walking over to the two fighting bots. At first, she just stood there. But, they seemed really into their fight and so we could hear Pandimala let out another sigh before she reached down and snatched Zarron up. He immediately stopped moving, though I wasn't sure why, and glanced behind him with a smile. "Oh, hey 'Mala. Didn't realize you had come back over."

"Obviously." Pandimala responded with a chuckle before looking at both him and Tana. "Now, are you two done wrestling in the dirt so we can go and relax with our fellow cadets. I would like to get to know them better if you wouldn't mind."

"Fine." Tana huffed as the three of them stopped in front of us. She didn't even hold out her servo to Remcy but, instead, engulfed him in a giant hug like mine and said, "Nice to meet you Remcy. I'm Tana and we are going to be friends!"

Pandimala then let out a laugh, which drew the rest of us into laughs, before she said, "Alright Tana, put the mech down. We've only got five clicks left and I can see that the others are already at attention."

I turned to the lineup and, sure enough, Elita, Optimus, and Sentinel were already standing there and I could see Kup walking over to where we were supposed to be. "Guess we shouldn't cut it close a second time this solar cycle." Tana laughed.

We all nodded and so the six of us ran back over before we lined up at attention again. I ended up standing beside Remcy and Tana again but, this time, I was as nervous. If these five bots really did become my friends, then we were going to get through this camp.

"Alright bots," Kup, our instructor, started, "now that you have been able to get to know one another a little better, it's time for training to begin." He then motioned behind him, where there were nine openings into an area, before he smirked and said, "And your first test will be to get to the heart of the maze and shut down the lasers before they take all of you out."

And my nervousness was back full force.

* * *

 **Tana: So many new friends! I'm so loving boot camp already!**

 **Pandimala: Yeah, and I know that we are going to have a lot of fun with this training exercise!**

 **Balm: *gulps* Right...fun. That was the word I was looking for. *nervous***

 **Authoress: *comforting* Don't worry Balm. The chances of somebot getting hurt aren't nearly as high as normal...I think?**

 **Vox: *frowns* That was helpful...not.**

 **Authoress: *shrugs* What? I can't help what happens. That's for you all to decide. *walks off***

 **Remcy: *huffs* Doubtful.**

* * *

 **AN: And here is the next chapter! Look! I can update somewhat quickly! I feel so proud! *crickets* *coughs* Anyways...I hope you all liked this chapter! I was originally going to have the entire boot camp scene in this chapter, like I did in the original story, but introductions caught up with me and the chapter is already over 7,000 words. So, I have decided that the next part of the boot camp scene will be in the next chapter! That means extra stuff for all of you. I hope you all have realized by now that knowing the previous work does not mean that you are going to be prepared for everything that happens. I've already made a change in the fact that Pandimala is hiding her wings for now. Also something that changed was that Kup, who was their instructor in the original but was never mentioned as such, is here on the first solar cycle and so we get a different atmosphere here than in the original.**

 **Next chapter is going to be a lot of fun but I have to update some other stuff before I can get to that. So, you are going to have to be left on this cliffhanger for now. Please leave a review, even if it is to say hi, so I know people like this story. I'm going to keep writing it but I'm just curious. Well, that's all for now folks. Until next time! TTYL! *works on prank with some bots in the background***


	5. When All Else Fails

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.**

* * *

 **Pandimala: Oh I am so excited! First solar cycle of boot camp! Now our first excercise!**

 **Authoress: *smirks* Yes it will be quite the adventure. You will have a grand adventure that is for sure. *walks out***

 **Pandimala: *whines* I hate it when she does that!**

* * *

Ch. 4: When All Else Fails

 **Pandimala's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I stayed at attention as Kup started to move back and forth in front of us. After he dropped the bomb about our first exercise…I was excited! This would be a perfect way to show the Autobots that I was worth being here and I didn't need my wings to make a difference for the Autobots. Of course, as I glanced at Kup, I knew that I was lucky. When he had called me over, our instructor had immediately demanded to know why I was hiding them. I had asked him what I was hiding and then he told me that Joint and Blockade had called him and told him about my being a triple changer.

The two of us had then discussed about what I was supposed to do now. He said that the rest of my boot camp bots deserved to know that I was a triple changer and that I should be using all that I had to help them overcome challenges. I then pointed out that this exercise he set up was made with only ground alt modes in processor. I told him that I could complete the mission by myself in five clicks at most if I were to use my wings. I then asked if I could at least keep it quiet until the end of the solar cycle. He agreed with me that this solar cycle's exercises would be simple for a flyer to complete. So, I was allowed to keep my wings hidden until we were dismissed for the solar cycle. Then, I had to tell my fellow cadets what I was hiding from those that didn't know.

"Now, the lasers are non-damaging lasers. If you are hit by one, the laser will take a non-intrusive scan of your energy and send it to this data-pad here." Kup spoke as he held up a data-pad. "I have each of your energies on a graph here and it will record how often you are hit. Obviously you want to be the person who is hit the least. Let's see how well you bots can do. Optimus, since you were the first one to arrive this cycle, you can choose your path first. Then Sentinel, Elita, Remcy, Balm, Tana, Zarron, Vox, and Pandimala you will get the path that is left."

I nodded at that and smiled. This was perfect. I would deal with whatever challenge that was given to me. This was so exciting! I was going to start the process of being an Autobot out in the field to take on the Decepticon menace. Those Decepticons…I wouldn't let them escape me. They would be brought to justice for all the crimes that they ever committed over the stellar cycles.

"Well, see you on the inside Pandimala." Vox spoke to me with a smirk, that drew me back to attention, before he ran to the far-right side path. Once he was through the path, a door shut over his path. So, that meant that the last one, which of course was the one in the middle, was the one for me.

"Here we go." I muttered to myself before running through the gateway. Once I was through, though, I stopped immediately and the door shut. I wasn't stupid as to run straight into fire. I had no doubt that there would be traps littered throughout the maze. I also had a feeling that the paths would meet up. If we weren't idiots about this, then the best thing to do would be to join up with the rest of our cadets so we could work together. Even if I was going to use my wings, they wouldn't be able to detect everything that was around me. Having a lookout to help move through the maze would be the best. Kup had never said how we were supposed to get over this challenge. That meant that the option of working together was open.

And I was thankful for that. While I knew how to work without my wings, I was not used to claustrophobia this powerful. It was usually alright when I was used to a place near me but, when I was alone and somewhere new…well…I could say that I was not going to be very well off if I didn't find somebot soon. Oh please Primus let me find somebot,

Motion from my right caused me to tense. Was this one of the lasers? I hadn't found any yet and I knew that they had to be coming soon. They were probably building up tension in us…since we know it is coming. Thankfully, I found myself relaxing when I saw that it was Optimus. He looked tense and studied me up and down. "So…what are we supposed to do when we find each other?" Optimus asked me nervously.

I shrugged and motioned around. "Kup didn't say anything about us all working together. So what do you say? Want to work together for now?" Plus, since we had both come out of different paths, then I knew that the path to my left was the way to go.

He looked at me hesitantly before nodding. "Sure. We can watch each other's backs." I nodded and so the two of us made it back down the only path left. As we walked, I felt slightly awkward. I wasn't able to introduce myself to Optimus, Elita, and Sentinel before we had to regroup for exercise…this one. "So, you're from housing right?" I nodded once. "What was that like?"

A smile snuck on my faceplate. What was housing like? "It was the best." I honestly told him. "I made friends and we were all able to group up together. I had such a wonderful time there that I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world." I checked around a corner and, seeing that it was clear, motioned us forward. "What about you Optimus? How did you grow up?"

He seemed hesitant before starting to speak. "When I came out of the Well, I was almost placed in housing." Ah, so that's why he wanted to know what it was like. "But, then Alpha Trion took me in and raised me. He helped me get to this point and I don't want to let him down."

My optics were wide with shock. I only knew of one bot named Alpha Trion. "Do you mean the Alpha Trion who is on the council? What's that like?"

Optimus smiled at that as we both turned another corner. "It was fun. He taught me so much and let me go to the archives whenever I wanted to read on Cybertron's past. Did you know that, in the past, Cybertron was a central hub of trade and information." Really? I actually didn't know that. With this war I wasn't sure about much of anything about Cybertron's past. I wonder what happened to, "Move!"

I flinched as Optimus tackled me to the side. Immediately, I saw a 'blaster' shot zoom through where I had just been standing. That had been close. "Thanks Optimus I," I flinched as the 'laser' hit the ground and left a sizeable mark. "holy slag Optimus those are real rounds!" I screamed as he and I both moved under cover. What the frag was going on? This wasn't right at all. Kup said that this was to be a test using fake rounds. They shouldn't be able to do that. "We need to move now!"

Optimus nodded and so the two of us quickly stood before sprinting down the path. We had to find the others and quickly. "Pandimala, we need to contact the others." Optimus suggested as we turned a corner and had to duck to the ground as a shot came at us.

A hiss escaped my vocals as the shot grazed my shoulder. I was not happy about this. Not at all. Fragging real rounds on a practice course? Something had to be wrong with the programming. No matter how hard an instructor was, they wouldn't risk real rounds in an enclosed space like this. Later one when we were doing battle simulations…yes. But, in a maze like this with enclosed spaces and barely any room to dodge? No.

" _Pandimala where are you?_ " I heard Vox yell through the comm that he, Zarron, Tana, and I set up when we were younger to help with our pranks.

I glanced at Optimus. "Optimus, we need to hold this position for now. I've got Vox on the comm and I'll see what he thinks and where he is." Then, I touched the side of my helm before connecting myself to the call that Vox was trying to make. "I'm here Vox. I'm with Optimus and I'll send you a ping of my location." I did so and then continued. "Is anyone with you?"

Optimus doused a few of the lasers in his coolant before coming back into cover as Vox answered me. " _Thanks Pandimala. From what I've gotten from you three, I've pretty much got the maze mapped out. I'm missing a small piece near you that I think is the center of the maze. From my scan, you seem to be the closest to the center. You'll head west from your current position and then take the next two rights. Then, you'll make a left and the entrance to the center is going to be four hundred yards straight ahead."_ He then paused and I heard him arguing with somebot in the background before he continued. " _Oh, and I have Remcy and Elita with me. Elita isn't too thrilled about the change in pace_." I heard a sound of metal hitting metal that I was sure was a helm slap _. "Frag it Elita sorry!"_ He then sighed. _"Anyways, Tana and Balm are together and Zarron is with Sentinel. Tana and Balm are the next closest out of us and then it's my group and then Zarron and Sentinel are the furthest away. Their paths took them around the far edge of the maze."_ The sound of a laser shot sounded over the comm before Vox finished. " _Can't waste any more time talking. You two need to get to the center and get that system shut down now!"_ He then cut the line.

While I was worried for my family, I knew that now was not the time to panic. Since Optimus and I were the closest, then I knew that we had to make our way to the center. "Optimus, Vox says we are the closest to the center. Are we clear to move?" He was the one who was holding our position so he would know best if we were in good position to move.

Optimus peeked around the corner and seemed to study it before nodding. "Yeah, I took out the lasers down this section of the maze. Did Vox say which direction we needed to head?"

I relayed the instructions to him before motioning to the path. "I can't maneuver around well and dodge the lasers. If you take the lead and act as our scout, let me know where the lasers are and then I can freeze them so we aren't in a shoot-out with them. That way you can stay clear of the blasts since you don't have a blaster of your own."

He seemed to think about that for a moment before he nodded. "That's a good idea Pandimala. Let's get to the center so we can finish this nightmare."

Optimus then led the way so I made sure to keep pace behind him. While the last part of Vox's directions had a set distance we needed to travel, these right turns that we had to take were three hundred yards apart from each other! Thankfully, Optimus was resourceful and was able to identify where most of the lasers were the first time he looked at the path. There were only a few that he missed but I was able to spot them when I came out and froze them all.

The two of us continued to move down the path that Vox gave us quickly and efficiently and I felt like we were doing pretty good. If we were being watched, I hoped this proved to the Autobots that I did not need my wings to fight efficiently for the Autobot cause against the Decepticons. As Optimus looked around the left turn that we had to make before the straightaway four hundred yards, I felt like I got a pretty good boot camp team. We worked well together and I had a feeling that more than just Optimus was working well with us. Those other two, Balm and Remcy, seemed really eager to be our friends and that meant that we would all be able to help each other.

When Optimus moved back to me, I felt worried at the concerned look on his faceplate. "What's wrong Optimus?" I asked my partner in this.

He motioned back to the turn and frowned. "It's weird. There aren't any lasers on the walls and there is just a large block in the middle of the path that is stopping us from getting to the center. Do you mind if I go first?"

This wasn't feeling right with me but Optimus had a faster reaction time than I did. So, reluctantly, I nodded. "Go ahead Optimus. I'll wait until you are fifty yards out before moving. If you see even the slightest hint of movement not from me you get back to my position. I can take more of a beating from lasers than you can."

A nod came with his response. "Deal." He then moved around the left turn and slowly made his way down the path. Ten yards. Twenty. Forty. As soon as he hit fifty I moved around the corner and kept a cautious optic out. This wasn't right at all. Ever since the lasers started firing the real rounds, Optimus and I had been bombarded by laser fire. Now, at the end of our path, all was quiet? I think not. Something big was going to happen and I could tell that Optimus picked up on this too. He had talked about wanting to be a Prime eventually when our introductions were made and, from how he was reacting here, I knew that he would go far and maybe, one solar cycle, he would take over for Ultra Magnus and become Magnus. I knew that was Sentinel's dream but, from what I was seeing, Optimus had all of the qualifications he needed.

…Just in need of some training.

When I reached the one hundred twenty-five-yard mark, I studied ahead of me and the block that was stopping our progress was one hundred yards ahead of me. Something wasn't right about that thing and it was causing me to become jittery. Claustrophobia was making me nervous and I almost wished that I had my wings out. They would be able to help me decide what to do. I could read patterns in the air.

But, I had to be steadfast in my decision until I had no other choice and, while this was a pretty dire situation, I still had a choice to pound it out on pede. It was better to watch out for Optimus here on ground level for now anyways. I had to make sure that we all completed this mission as soundly as possible. Yeah…this was no longer a training exercise for me. It was a mission and I would not lose anybot.

"Pandimala move!"

I jumped as Optimus yelled that and it was only then that I realized that I had zoned out. That was something that could be deadly on the battlefield. I couldn't think of anything else as Optimus shoved me to the side and I heard his yell of pain.

Once I slammed to the ground, I immediately sat up and felt my optics widen when I saw that Optimus' leg had a hole blown straight through it. Scrap! Running over to Optimus position, I dragged him out of the way before looking over the wound. It was leaking energon and sparking dangerously. We had to finish this mission now and now the situation dictated that there was no other choice.

"Optimus can you use that ax well enough to chop up the generator in the center?" I asked my injured teammate.

He flinched and looked down at his injured leg before looking back at me. "Maybe if I could get to it. But, I can't even walk on my leg right now and you can't carry me and take out that block at the same time. Looks like we'll have to hide out here until the others get to the center."

We both flinched as the block continued to fire at us. While I wasn't happy about the circumstances that I had to use them, my wings were the best option for the situation and I didn't think the other's would get to the center in decent time to turn off the system and help Optimus. So, I opened up a comm with Tana. "Tana, this is 'Mala. Optimus has been hurt pretty bad in the leg. Hole blown clean through. Can you ask Balm if she can look at it once we take out that generator?"

The line was quiet for a few clicks before Tana came on. " _Hey 'Mala. Balm says that she can help fix it until we can get a full medic here. But, how are you going to get to the generator unless…_ " She then drifted off as what I figured was her figuring out what I was going to do came to her. " _Pandimala that's dangerous. You'll be more exposed to the lasers and you could get really hurt!"_

I shook my helm at her response. "Tana, I doubt you all are as close as we are. I can almost see the generator. Plus, I bet you all have laser blocks stopping you as well. Just make sure to move double time to the center as soon as we take that thing down." I then cut the line before she could say anything else before moving and picking up Optimus from under his arms.

"Pandimala what are you doing?" Optimus asked me in a panicked voice. "You aren't seriously planning on running with me past the block and hoping to not get shot?" He yelled the second part and I knew that he was panicked.

Before I could answer him, I had to focus to open my thrusters and start the opening of my wings. Once that was started, I ran toward the block with him before saying, "There was something that I didn't tell any of you during introductions. The only bots who know are my fellow housing bots and Kup, who was told by one of the bots that raised us. Just…hang on tightly."

The block started to prime its blaster and I could feel Optimus try to squirm out of panic. But, I knew it was going to be alright. Just as the blaster was about to fire, my wings popped out and I activated my thrusters before flying into the air. I had to admit that Optimus' squirming was not helping me stay steady in the air…not in the slightest. "Pand…Pandimala you're a flier!?" Optimus squeaked in shock as we rose into the air above the block. I could see the generator now.

As my wings sent me information, I nodded. "Yeah…well I would technically be called a triple changer. Now, do you think you can take out the generator?"

I was surprised when he was able to answer me pretty quickly. "Y…yeah I can take it out. Just get me to it and it'll be gone." He then took his ax out of subspace and held it tight as I flew near the generator.

I was about to descend toward the generator when a flash of light appeared in front of my vision…the corner by one of the entrances to the center. Taking a quick glance in focus, I saw that one of the cubes was primed and aimed right at me. There wasn't enough time to land close enough to the generator to destroy it and Optimus needed to take out that generator so the others could get here. I knew Optimus leg had to be painful right now and it was only going to get worse. There was only one thing I could really do.

"Optimus get ready to swing!" I yelled before turning to get momentum and throwing him. "Now!" As he moved closer to the generator, the block in front of me fired its laser and, an instant later, my chest plate flared with pain and my world went dark.

 **Kup's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I growled as I studied the data-pad in front of me. It was strange. In all the other boot camps that I had overseen, the cadets would throw caution to the winds since the lasers were fake. The least amount of blast hits before this solar cycle had been twelve and that had been a very nervous bot. But, as I looked over this information, there was only eleven hits between all nine cadets…and five were minor hits on Sentinel. Grazing hits really. Then, the warrior-to-be Tana took three minor hits, Vox and Zarron both had a hit each, also minor, and Optimus had a major hit on his right leg. Otherwise, there were no injuries. Something wasn't right about,

The sound of a jet engine caused myself, Anvil, and Boombox to glance toward the arena and I smirked when I saw Pandimala carrying Optimus into the air. Pandimala had told me that she was only going to use her wings if there was no other choice until the end of the solar cycle. So, why was she using them now? The center of the maze was too far away from us to get a clear view but I couldn't even begin to see what the problem could be.

"She's a triple changer?" I glanced at both Anvil and Boombox when they said that. Young bots these solar cycles. There used to be a time when all bots were able to identify what kind of mode a bot was, even if said bot was trying to hide it.

I let out a laugh, which caused the two of them to look at me, before I spoke. "Yes she is. You two need more training in identifying bots. I knew as soon as Pandimala finished showing her weapons that she was a triple changer. But, we can't focus on that right now. Pandimala will explain herself when they all finish," I paused myself when I saw the data pad flash and I saw that Pandimala had taken a critical hit to the chestplate. If that was a real hit, I would be calling medics immediately. The program then flashed to say that the lasers were deactivated.

"Looks like that explanation is going to be coming soon." Anvil smirked as we all waited.

But, I became worried as the clicks dragged by and no one came out. Something had to be wrong and I was not liking this. Without the risk of lasers, the cadets should have been able to come back right away without any issues. Of course, they could be questioning Pandimala about her wings but I didn't think it would be taking this long.

I jumped at the sound of a siren and I turned in surprise to see a medic alt mode barreling down toward us. Once it was in front of us, the bot transformed and I was surprised at who it was. "Where are the injured bots?" My old wartime friend, Ratchet, asked me as he stood with worry in his optics.

What…what was he talking about? "Ratchet…I didn't make a call. Plus…you don't work for any of the nearby med centers."

He gave me a look that I was used to. A look that said that he knew what I was saying and I was an idiot. I really hated that look. "Of course I don't work for any of the med centers. They're filled with a bunch of annoying brats. I listen to the emergency band in case I am the closest bot who can help or if the operators don't take a call seriously. That's why I'm here. A young femme who called herself Balm called the emergency line in a panic about a young mech with a blaster hole through his leg and a triple changer femme that was shot in the chest plate and was in serious condition that she needed a trained medic to the training grounds immediately. They told her that there were no triple changers in the Autobots and that she needed to make an appointment to see a psychiatrist immediately before they hung up. The idiots!"

I had to get Ratchet calmed down and to the cadets. Balm was a nervous femme and I doubted that she would call unless there was an emergency. That meant that I couldn't waste any more time. "Well hurry up Hatch. We need to get to the middle of the maze now!"

Leading the way through the maze, I lead Ratchet and my two assistants through. It wasn't complicated but the lasers should have been all over the place. But, it looked like some of them never came out of this path. "So there is a triple changer in your boot camp Kup?"

Smirking at his question, I nodded. "Yeah Ratchet, and frag did it surprise me. You remember Joint?"

He let out a huff of disbelief at my question. "Kup you know she was my last apprentice. Of course I remember her. She stopped being a medic after her tour of duty, though, and went into housing orphans. Why do you ask?"

We turned another corner before continuing. "Because I have the bots she was raising in this boot camp. Of course Balm wasn't one of them. I'll send you the file on that femme." He gave me a curious look but I needed to continue as we passed the halfway point. "Anyways, there were four of them but one is a triple changer femme called Pandimala."

I paused as I approached the final approach to the center. Not only were their blaster marks on the walls and ground, I saw spilt energon. That could only mean that,

"Say that again and the next energon spilled will be yours!" I heard Cadet Tana exclaim in anger.

When the four of us exited into the middle of the maze, I felt my optics widen in surprise. Elita-One was standing in front of Sentinel and seemed to be holding him back. Facing him on the other side were Zarron, Vox, and Remcy holding Tana back…who looked like she wanted to tear into Sentinel. But, the important detail was Balm and the two injured bots that she was moving between. Like she reported, Optimus had a hole through his leg and Pandimala looked close to offlining. Balm herself looked like she was in a panic trying to keep them both stable. For a rookie medic, she seemed to have studied up on what to do in emergencies.

"What happened?"

I jumped as Ratchet rushed by me and knelt down next to Balm, who was looking at Pandimala. "The lasers…they started firing real rounds. We all tried to get to the center quickly but most of us were still pretty far behind. Pandimala and Optimus…they got the closest and so we had them go to the center." I noticed that young Balm seemed to be close to panic.

However, that didn't last long as Ratchet nodded. "Calm down femme. I'll need your help with the triple changer. I'm surprised she has lasted this long and I'll be fragged to the Pit if I don't give her a chance to stay online." He then turned to me. "Kup, you get on the emergency band and get a med team down here to look at the mech. He should be alright until they get here." He then looked at Optimus. "You need to just stay calm and take slow intakes. I know it hurts but it could be a lot worse." Finally he transformed and used his magnets to load Pandimala on top of his alt mode. "And you…Balm right?"

Balm nodded nervously and I could now see that she was covered in energon. She must have been really working herself to keep both of the injured bots stable. "Yes…that's me."

Ratchet seemed to hesitate for a nano-click before continuing. "While you seem nervous to me, the only other bot I would trust with this would be too emotionally close to this since she helped raise the triple changer here. So, you need to snap out of this haze, transform into your alt mode, and follow me to my med bay so we can treat your fellow cadet." Balm seemed to hesitate, probably due to her nervousness, so Ratchet decided to 'nudge' her forward. "Now!"

She then transformed and followed Ratchet toward the direction of the exit. Once there, I knew that it would take them about ten clicks to get to Ratchet's house and med bay. I shook my head and went to call the emergency band when I heard a voice next to me. "Yes you idiots! My name is Anvil, assistant instructor at the boot camp being trained by Kup, and we do need a fragging medic team." My femme assistant yelled into her comm line. There was a pause before she sighed. "There was a triple changer but a medic with a working processor heeded Balm's call and has taken her back to his own med bay. Of course I'm not kidding! You can ask the bots down here all you like once you get a team down here! And I want it now!" I then recognized the signs of her hanging up on the medics. She was one unhappy femme.

"Calm down dear…it's going to be fine now." Boombox calmed down Anvil, who also happened to be his bondmate.

Anvil nodded and leaned next to Boombox before the three of us approached the other cadets, who were standing by the downed Optimus. I could still see sparks in the air between Tana and Sentinel so I coughed before saying, "Cadets, stand down. Given the events of this solar cycle, you have the rest of the solar cycle off. But, you better be ready for the next solar cycle. It's going to be a hard round of training that you won't like at all."

They all nodded and I was about to turn away when, to my surprise, Vox walked up to me with Zarron and Tana. "Sir," Vox started. "who was that mech that took Pandimala and Balm?"

I looked in the direction that the old medic took and smirked. Yeah, I guess this generation wouldn't know who he was. Taking a puff of my cygar, I let the smoke out before answering him. "Lad, that was one of the most famous medics still online. Served with me during the Great War and he is very good at what he does. His designation is Ratchet."

 **Ratchet's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

This solar cycle was not what I expected it to be. I had just been enjoying my mid-solar cycle energon and listening to the emergency band when I heard a young femme's voice call about an injured triple changer femme and vehicle mech at the training grounds. At first, I thought that the femme might be having a break-down due to the stress of the first solar cycle of boot camp. But, she immediately changed my opinion when she started to read of the vitals and the symptoms that she was taking on the two bots in question. This cadet, since she sounded too panicked to be an instructor, seemed to have some basic knowledge in the medical field and I just knew that she was serious about the situation.

I was angered when the operator on the other side told the femme that she should seek a psychiatrist appointment. No bot who could send statistics like that, especially on the triple changer, could be faking it. During the war, I had helped a couple of triple changers and they had a specific set of stats that only a bot working on one would be able to repeat to the operators. The femme driving behind me into my med bay had said those stats. So, I had made my way to the training grounds and, like the young femme…Balm, had reported to the operator, there was a triple changer who was close to offlining and a young mech with a hole through his leg.

Once the two of us were inside, I immediately stopped and used my magnets to move the triple changer to one of the four med berths that I had here. Once she was set down, I quickly transformed. "We don't have time to waste." I started to instruct Balm. "Top cabinet on the left side there should be some clamps. Grab all that you can, and a variety of sizes, and let's get to work on your friend."

The young femme nodded and immediately ran to do so. While she did that, I scanned the young triple changer's injury and saw that, thankfully, the blaster shot had sealed a good number of the major lines so only minimal energon was coming out. That would be a good thing when we got inside. I grabbed my tools and, as soon as Balm returned with the clamps, we set to work.

In total, the operation took nine cycles to complete. While at first, the injury had looked better than it could have, it actually ended up being worse. While the blaster shot had seared some of the lines shut, it had also disrupted her flow of energon and so we had to undo the searing and that had put the femme into even more pain. Pandimala, who was the triple changer, had come out of stasis due to the pain and I had to hold her down…which was not easy, as Balm hooked her up to the stasis drip. It wasn't long before she was in stasis again and we could proceed.

The young femme, Balm, was even more helpful than I thought. I was serious in saying that the only reason I had her coming with me was due to the only other bot who I trusted to help, Joint, being too close to this femme. If Kup hadn't told me that Joint had raised this triple changer in her housing program, then I would have called my previous apprentice to help me. But, since she was, then this femme, who had called in the emergency in the first place, was my only option. And from how she worked in here, I could tell that she had done a good deal of research on the medical field. She didn't even need me to tell her how to hook up the clamps and the young femme was able to react right away when one of the femme's lines suddenly burst and energon had started spraying everywhere. Instead of panicking at the energon spraying, like many of the idiot femmes at Iacon Central Hospital did, Balm immediately grabbed a clamp and reached into the wound before placing said clamp on the broken line.

Now I was just finishing sealing the triple changer's wound while Balm was turning off the output of the drip. This would allow Pandimala to come out of stasis slowly and naturally. That would give her wounds time to heal slightly so she would be in less pain. From her size and my experience in the past, I figured that it would take her about three cycles to wake up. Then, I would send her back to,

A ping on my private message system had me pause slightly before I returned to my work and opened it. The message was from Kup and it was a file on Balm…the femme that I was working with. I finished sealing the wound and motioned to a hall on the side before saying, "Once you finish up, I have a wash rack that you can use. I'll use the one in the house. Once you are done you can rest in here with your friend until I get back." She nodded hesitantly so I made my way to my house to my personal wash racks.

Once I was inside and turned on the water, I opened the file on the femme and started to read. Designation: Balm. Registered alt mode: Medical Response Vehicle. Hmm…so she had this alt mode registered. That probably meant that, given the circumstances, she was wanting to be a medic for a long time.

I then scrolled down the notes until I looked at the next important piece of information. The date that she emerged from the Well. I was curious as to how old she really was. However, I was confused when the date was unavailable but it said that she was 1.8 million stellar cycles old. That shouldn't be right. Why would a date be unavailable? I saw that there was a number taking me to a side note so I scrolled to it before I continued to read. My optics widened slightly when I saw that, 1.8 million stellar cycles ago, she was detached from a sparklet that was created by a spark bond between her sire, Dif, and her carrier, Cryal. While I wasn't familiar with Cryal, I did know about Dif. He was a very accomplished medic who was usually right on the front lines. He was injured on the front lines and, from what I heard, he could have been saved if there were more medics. I never realized that he had sparked his bondmate.

From her age, I didn't have to read Balm's age designation to know that she was a youngling. However, she would be an official adult in 200,000 stellar cycles. She was younger than I thought and, with how she handled herself at the operating table, I was curious as to what the bots in the psych department at Iacon Central thought about this femme. It was standard for all cadets to be pre-examined unless they came from the housing units. That would explain them not knowing about Pandimala since she was from housing. They probably didn't have any record on her.

Turning off the water and starting to dry off, I re-focused my attention on the report and scanned it until I found the 'personality' report…or in other terms the psych report.

Once I found it, I read it aloud as I continued to dry off. "Displays nervous tendencies…among those a habit of stuttering words. Medics have done comprehensive scans on vocals and find no medical reason for this. Seems hesitant when being introduced to new bots and seems to be socially inept." I paused at that. While she seemed a nervous type, I didn't see her as socially inept. If she were, she would not have been able to work with me in the operating room.

She wasn't the best at social interacting, I would give the bots at Iacon Central that much, but to say that she was socially inept was an exaggeration. No bot who was 'socially inept' could work in a strange medical bay with a complete stranger on a bot with a critical wound like Pandimala had received. Then, to stay calm when the unexpected happened just showed a sound processor that was capable to dealing with situations.

I focused back on the report to see what else this bot had to say about the femme who was probably still washing up from the operation. "It is recommended that the femme in question never be accepted into hi-stress work environments. The femme in question has expressed a want to enter the medical field. This is to be highly discouraged and prevented at all available costs. The only safe work environment that is seen for this femme is secretarial work for an employer with a low-stress work environment."

I hesitated for a nano-click after reading that. Then, I reread it to myself before feeling anger rise in my systems. That femme had just reacted more calmly in the operating room than most femmes…and mechs that were currently stationed at Iacon Central. And they were trained medical professionals. This 'Pendulum' was a bot that I was going to look into.

I moved to close the report when I noticed that Kup had made his own little side note on it next to Pendulum's name. It was a simple one worded note but it explained this entire report to me. That word was 'Politics'. Yes, now it made sense. There were so few bots that came from a carrier and sire these solar cycles, millions of stellar cycles in fact, and now I was starting to piece everything together. It wouldn't look good for the council if a femme who didn't come to a Well, a system they controlled, were able to grow up and gain a well-respected reputation such as a medic.

That gave me an idea and I knew that it would really irk the idiots on the council. I just had to hope that the femme, Balm, would accept my proposition. While I knew she wasn't socially inept, I knew that she was a nervous femme and I wasn't sure how she would react outside of the operating theater. But, as I made my way to the med bay, I knew that there was really only one way to find out and I couldn't worry myself over anything else. I had seen so much during the war that I couldn't let these things worry me. I had to just approach the femme and ask her what I wanted to ask her. It would be her choice as to what would happen.

When I got to the room, I saw that Balm was checking Pandimala's vitals and I knew even more now that she was going to go far if she accepted. If she didn't then I knew that the council would do everything that they could to deny her want of being a medic and stick her behind a desk. Balm had every instinct to be a capable medic and I knew that I could train those instincts in her while teaching her the tricks of the trade.

"How are her levels?" I asked Balm to let her know that I was here.

Said femme jumped and turned to me before sighing and saying, "S...sorry sir I didn't hear you come in. Pandimala's stable and it looks like she is going to make a full recovery. Her spark energy is stable and the patches we made on her lines are holding. Unless Pandimala still feels pain when she comes back online, I'm sure that she is going to be fine to go back to boot camp to train next solar cycle."

I walked up next to Balm and looked over Pandimala myself and I saw that Balm was correct in her findings. Now, however was time to get some information about Balm from the femme herself. So, I motioned to a couple of chairs that I keep in the room before continuing. "Why don't we sit and wait for her to wake up? I would like to ask you some questions if that is alright?"

Balm seemed to hesitate when I asked that but, after a few clicks, she nodded slightly. "That…that seems like a good idea." We both then walked over to the chairs and sat down before she motioned to me. "Wh…what would you like to know?"

I motioned to her before saying, "While we were working on Pandimala, you seemed to know the basics on what to do. Why is that?"

She seemed to grow very nervous before she spoke. "Well…my carrier used to tell me stories about all the devastation that the war caused on all bots and how, if there had been enough medics around during the war, that my sire would still be around this solar cycle. So…I wanted to make sure that there would at least be one more medic out in the galaxy that would be ready to help. So…I would read all of my sire's journals and notes along with the information data-pads that he would collect when he was online. Carrier never got rid of anything that belonged to sire. Late during the night cycles, if I couldn't recharge, carrier would read me Sire's medical journals. I was practically raised around knowledge of being a medic. I've wanted to be a medic for as long as I could remember." She then paused before adding. "Sir."

I felt surprised by the amount of time this femme had spent working for her dream. It reminded me of what it was like to work hard for what you believed in. This just made me even more sure about what I was going to ask. So, I nodded before saying, "So you want to be a medic. Seems like your friend here was lucky that you are so dedicated to your goal." I then paused and looked at her again before saying what I thought of earlier. "Now…I'll have to run this by your instructor at the academy but I want to ask you something."

Balm looked even more nervous. "Y…yes sir?"

I studied her again before speaking. "Now, it will be a lot of hard work and I will expect obedience as well as you retaining the lessons I teach…but I would like to offer to you the chance to be my apprentice. So…would you like to become my new apprentice?"

The femme in front of me stared straight at me in shock. I saw no hesitation but confusion and joy. That was probably the cause of her shock. If she didn't make a response soon then I, "Oh yes sir! I would love to be your apprentice! Thank you thank you! I promise I will work hard every solar cycle that I can! Oh thank you!" Then I jumped as she launched at me and, before I could dodge, I was smothered in a hug by said femme.

I wasn't usually a fan of hugs and I wasn't sure what to do now. While I wanted to push the femme off of me, I was afraid that it would be damaging to her mental state if I did so. She was trusting me but, if I pushed her away, then she might become reclusive during her apprenticeship and, if she did that, she would not be able to learn all that I could teach her. So, I settled on a middle ground. "Um…Balm?" I started forcing confusion into my vocals.

Her frame tensed and she slowly backed off with a nervous look on her faceplate. "Oh…um…s…sorry sir."

She looked extremely nervous now and I knew that, if I didn't react now, that she would remain nervous around me. So, I did something that I didn't do often since the war and smiled before nodding. "It's alright Balm…and you don't have to address me as sir. My designation is Ratchet."

* * *

 **Balm: I...I am an apprentice...*smiles widely* YES! *pauses and blushes at sudden outburst***

 **Authoress: *laughs* Yes and don't you worry Balm. I bet that, under Ratchet, you'll learn all that you need to learn and more. He is one of the best out there.**

 **Balm: *nods and smiles* Oh I am so glad for this. *goes off to pack***

 **Tana: *walks in* What was that about?**

 **Authoress: *smiles* Well, it seems like Balm is going to be the first out of you all to take that closer step to getting her dream. *smirks* So you all had better step up the pace.**

 **Tana: *runs out to train***

* * *

 **AN: And here is the next exciting chapter to this story! I hope you all enjoyed it ( I know I did) and I can't wait for the fun to keep coming. Looks like we get a peek into the pasts of both Balm and Optimus. While Balm's past was fun to write I really enjoyed having Optimus raised by Alpha Trion. It may or may not be important later on. Also, Ratchet finally makes an appearance and we get to see that the Council is starting to become an important role in the story. Remember, I have many plans my readers and they are so intricately bound that even the smallest details can result in the largest of surprises. Next chapter I start with 'stand alone' chapter about each of Pandimala's close friends and their path to reaching their goal. It should be pretty interesting but I haven't decided who will be first. The only thing that I do know is that Balm will not be next...sorry to anyone that wanted it to be so. However, I have a birthday request to fill out next before I can continue with any of my other stories so things will have to hold off for a few days...depending on how quickly I can get the request filled to perfection (well...as perfect as I can...no one is more perfect than Knockout...*goes into Knockout fangirl daze*)**

 **Well, that is all that I have to say for now. Please leave a review, even if it is to say hello, and I will greatly appreciate it! I try to respond to reviewers if I can but my email likes to play keep away at times so if I do not respond to your review I am terribly sorry but want you to know that I do eventually see them and they are greatly appreciated. Until next time...TTYL! *watches prisoners of war in POW camp at Stalag 13 and laughs at Schultz...who sees** **NOTHING!** *** (If you get that reference I love you...somewhat XD )**


	6. Access to the Bureau

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.**

* * *

 **Vox: Wow...this is all about me!**

 **Pandimala: *pats shoulder***

 **Vox: *worried* What was that for?**

 **Pandimala: *sighs* That just means that the odds of something happening to you during this is going to be even more likely. *Walks out***

 **Authoress: *evil laughter in the distance***

 **Vox: *gulps* Scrap.**

* * *

Ch. 5: Access to the Bureau

 **Vox's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I sighed an out-take of relief as I sat in front of my study desk. Three stellar cycles. That was how long it had been since we had gone through boot camp. Out of the five of us, Remcy and Balm had ended up becoming great friends, only Balm was close to achieving her dream…being a medic. After the first disaster, here at the Academy with 'Mala, Balm had been selected by the medic who had come to help, Ratchet, to become his new apprentice. We were all happy for her and hoped that she would do well.

However, the work here at the academy was painstaking and hard. This solar, we had done four cycles of intense battle training and team that I worked with were fresh out of the boot camp last solar. I was barely able to hold our team together. It made me really miss our team back from boot camp. But, I hadn't been on a field team with them all in a while. The last bot from boot camp that I was on a field team with was Tana and that was seventy solars ago. I couldn't wait to finish academy training. Once we were done here, and we accomplished our goals, then our group from boot camp would come together and make an awesome team that would make the Decepticons quiver.

But, until then, I had to get through all this work.

Turning on my monitor, I looked through my messages to see if there was anything important. I had thirteen messages total. Great. I really hated messages. But, I had better get them done with. Tonight, I was meeting up with Pandimala and Remcy at Slapjack's for a quick drink before 'Mala had a night course to run through and Remcy went to work on the mock report that was due tomorrow that we got seven solars ago to accomplish…and he hadn't even started it.

First message…sales ad for a vocal modulator upgrade. No thank you! I liked my voice exactly how it was. Primus gave me my vocals for a reason and frag I was not going to change it. Balm sent me a good luck message for my field test tomorrow. I sent her a thank you message back before moving to the third message. _Another_ sales ad…though this one for an x-ray vision mod. Um…no thanks. I heard those things destroy your optics after a while.

And the rest of the messages played out similarly, with the last one being from Pandimala as a reminder that we had to come up with battle strategies due in ten solars. Our instructor, Computron, was very specific to point out that we needed to start work on those as soon as possible. That assignment had been given to us two solars ago and I already had a nice opening strategy planned out. Now, I just needed to

 _Ding_

I glanced at my monitor and I was surprised to see that I got a message. It was kinda odd that I was getting a message while I was sitting here. Those kinds of odds weren't in favor of that happening. But I shook my head and glanced at the sender of the message. To my surprise, the message was from Stix. He was a cadet who was a few stellars ahead of me and he had gotten a job at Autobot intelligence headquarters. Not the job for me but an enviable job if I didn't know what I wanted to do in intelligence.

Looking at the subject line, however, I became nervous. It was titled 'Urgent! OPEN NOW!' and that told me it wasn't good at all. Stix hated to use all caps in words unless the matter was serious. So, I quickly opened the message and read what he sent me.

"In ten solars time, cadets from the academy, who have not been outsourced to other fields, will be placed in a list of cadets to be randomized and, out of those, half will be sent to the far planets for study abroad. This is non-debatable. If the cadet is selected, then they must leave. Selection process will begin next solar cycle at 15:00 cycles and results will be posted the solar cycle after at 07:00 cycles." I read to myself before slamming my servos against my desk. "Frag no they can't do this!" I yelled at the screen.

This wasn't right! While Balm would be safe from this, since she was outsourced as an apprentice, and I wouldn't mind going since it would help me prove myself to the CBI, Remcy, Tana, and 'Mala could be set back by this…and it might even stop their dreams cold. The CIA had a high turnover rate for bots if they went to the further reaches of space before they came to work for the CIA. Tana…well, there were only five Guardians total and so the odds of them noticing her clear in the far reaches were slim to none. She wouldn't stand a chance of completing her dream while she was gone…and if they forced her to stay in the outer reaches than her dream would become almost non-existent!

Then there was Pandimala's dream of becoming a Prime! The Council scrutinized their choices for Primes very harshly and you had to have constant and rigorous training from the best instructors to even have a shot of becoming a Prime. And, as most bots knew, almost all the best instructors resided here on Cybertron to train the best of the best. Very few bots, if any, from off world became a rank higher than Minor.

There had to be something I could do to help. I was going to be intelligence and, if I couldn't manipulate data to help my friends, then how was I going to ever look them in the optics again. The answer to that was immediate to me and it wasn't good. I wouldn't be able to. Every solar that went on I would never be able to look them in the optics…knowing that _I_ had been the reason that their dreams were unable to be fulfilled.

It wasn't going to happen. Somehow, no matter what, I would not fail my friends. I would use my skills and make sure that they could go on. But, now I just had to figure out how I was going to do that. Getting into the database was going to be difficult, but I was going to have to work fast and use all my skills that I had to get to the files that Stix mentioned in his message.

An alarm going off in my helm caused me to look at it and I realized that I had thirty clicks to get to Slapjack's to meet with Remcy and Pandimala. I really didn't want to be late for that so I quickly closed out of my messages and made a dash for the door.

It only took me twenty-five clicks to get to Slap's and, thankfully, the place wasn't as crowded as it could be. I could count maybe ten bots as patrons, twelve if I was counting Pandimala and Remcy who were sitting at a table waiting for me. We had purposefully picked this time so we weren't trying to talk over the loud noise of his usual crowd.

"Vox! Over here!" Pandimala called out, as if I couldn't find her in a crowd.

Walking over to them, I smiled before taking a seat. "Hey you two, how have things been?"

Pandimala stretched for a nano before grabbing hold of her cube of energon. "I'm doing pretty good Vox. The team that I was working with today wasn't so bad. There was a bot called Hot Rod and he seems to have a lot of talent. But, we'll see. I've got training exercises with Cardia Major and Troit Major next solar and Hot Rod is going to be there. Should be a better chance for me to see what he can do and if he is actually going to be something good and not just some lazy stuck up brat."

She said that last part angrily and I couldn't blame her. For her last team-up, Pandimala said that there was a mech called Faukon who demanded to be put in charge of their mock operation and, when he finally got the chance to lead, he had put their entire company in danger and Pandimala had to take over and recover the mission before anybot got hurt.

Of course, the situation wasn't helped any by the fact that the blasters had started using real rounds and there were live bombs in the walls surrounding the exercise fields and the walls inside. After the first incident during our own boot camp, with Pandimala almost being offlined and Optimus really injured, the ICD…also known as the internal crimes division, had questioned everybot connected to the training exercises and had done a sweep of all the technology that was used in the exercise.

But, they had never found who had done it. We all hoped that it was a one-time incident that wouldn't happen again and, depending on what training groups we were with that would be the case. But, Pandimala had received a nickname around the academy to describe her situation; War Trap. It wasn't a flattering name, in my opinion, but Pandimala laughed at it and would even respond to it with immediate haste.

How she even got the nickname? Well…let's just say that the lasers going real on our first day hasn't been the only time something like that has happened. She attracts trouble like a magnet and I would be kinda surprised if she became a Prime without losing at least one of her limbs. Seriously.

"I'm still working on getting into the CIA." Remcy stated before taking a drink. "There's a test coming up in four solars that, as long as I score within the top five, will give me instant access to the Agency. But…I guess I kinda got to be on planet to make sure I can take it." He then put a servo on the back of his helm. "If I can't take this test, then it's going to probably be a good ten stellars before I can hope to get into the Agency."

Guilt immediately welled up inside of me. With the information that I just found out, I was going to have to make sure that I could hack into the database. I couldn't let Remcy wait another ten stellars to get into the CIA. No…I wouldn't make him wait that long.

Even if it cost me my own dream.

"So, Vox," I turned to Pandimala as she addressed me. "how have you been coming along with getting into the CBI?"

Well… "Not making too much progress. I'm not going to give up but I didn't realize just how hard it is to get in. I don't even know how to get in." And if I got caught doing what I was planning on doing tomorrow, then I was never going to get in. Hopefully, I could do it without getting caught.

As I took a drink out of the high-grade they got me, Pandimala shrugged. "Well, good luck with that Vox. If there are any bots with working processors in CBI recruitment, I bet you will be hired on in no time at all. I mean, you did hide all Joint's pictures and you know how hard those are to hide."

Immediately coughing and gagging was my response to that, due to my energon going down the wrong tube, and I did that for a few clicks, with Pandimala and Remcy patting my backplates. Joint had a lot of fun during her training, with who we found out after our first solar of boot camp was Ratchet, and took a lot of pictures to prove it. Lots of pictures. If Ratchet ever got his servos on even one of the hundred thousand pictures that Joint had taken in the med bay, he would go and turn her into a door mat. He would put it by his med bay and step on it for each picture taken…and that would mean Joint would be like that for a while.

"Yeah," I finally got out without sounding like my internals would come out. "I guess that would catch their attention…if Joint would let anybot know that the pictures even existed. But, do you really see that happening?"

Both shook their helms at that. Remcy and Balm had met Joint after we were done with boot camp. She of course doted over the two of them, especially Balm, before she ran away with said medic-in-training to talk about Balm's apprenticeship.

The three of us continued to hang out for another four cycles before we parted ways and I made my way back to my room. There were a lot of things that I had to get planned for this risky move I was going to make and I had to make sure that I planned for as many different scenarios as I could. There were some ideas that I could take out right away. They would be too drastic for me to even hope of implementing them into action.

But…once I entered my room and laid on my berth, my processor focused on one singular idea. It was going to be risky…really risky…but it was the only thing that I saw that could work. This was going to take almost perfect timing and some luck but, for my friends, I knew that I would be able to do it.

I just had to hope that I was as good as I thought I was, or tomorrow was going to be my last solar with the Autobots. My plan was very risky and it was going to break a lot of rules. If I got caught, I wouldn't have time to catch my intakes before they threw me into the stockades for the rest of my existence. That was not going to be good at all. Soon I fell into recharge.

The next morning, I came out of recharge with my plan ready to move. First thing first…I had to inconspicuously make my way into Fortress Maximus without anybot seeing me. I couldn't let anybot I knew see me or they could place me in the building during my little…project. That meant that I had to get there extra early in the morning here. Glancing at my internal alarm, I sighed when I saw that it was only zero four thirty. Frag this was early. I was going to so be recharging late tomorrow if I got away with this. Really late. Like…maybe not even wake up until my check-up at Ratchet's the solar after tomorrow.

…Maybe it would be better to just get stuck in the stockades…

Shaking my helm, I quickly got up and got ready before making my way down to Fortress Maximus. At this time, most of the bots that I knew weren't even out of recharge and so I have lowered the odds at getting caught. However, I knew that there was one bot who would be up here and who knew me somewhat well. That…was Alpha Trion. He was a very smart mech and was older than any other bot I knew. Actually…I wasn't sure if anybot knew how old the councilmech was.

The first time I had met the old bot, he had come to Joint's housing with Ultra Magnus. Ultra Magnus had been coming to the house to visit the three of us when he had run into the old bot. Alpha Trion had been curios about where Ultra Magnus went in the mornings and so came with him to meet us. When the two of them walked in, I remember looking up at the old mech and knowing that he knew a lot of stuff. I mean, he had to have so much information in his processor that I wanted to learn it all.

I remember that Ultra Magnus had to remind the councilmech that they had a meeting to get to…and that they were already late for that. After that solar, the old mech came with Ultra Magnus more and more to come and see us. Slag, there would even be some solars when Alpha Trion would come and see us when Ultra Magnus couldn't. He would always tell us stories and, once he figured out that I wanted to be in intelligence some solar, he started to give me tips on what I could do to improve and what I needed to practice.

Now…now I had to use that training to go against the Autobots. I almost couldn't believe that I was doing this. But, as I quietly made my way inside the building, I knew that this was very real. I loved being an Autobot…loved it so much, but to keep my friends safe and working toward their goals, I would give up anything that I had to. Even…even being an Autobot.

A few clicks more and I soon found myself entering a side monitoring room. It wasn't used much and it would allow me access into the Autobot mainframe. Plus, since it wasn't used much, then that meant that the odds of me being caught would be reduced drastically. It almost made me feel good about doing this.

…Almost.

Soon, I was sitting in front of the monitor and flying through the log ins and launching myself into the Autobot network. The log ins were simple to get passed. They ran on a constantly changing password but, as long as I got on the changing stream before I tried to log in, then the system itself would allow me access to its mainframe. It was kinda simple really.

Of course, that was the end of the simple measures. I knew I had to look at future troop deployments and those would be heavily guarded, in case the Decepticons tried to find out where our troops in the outer reaches would be. The programing defenses started to become more complex and I was finding that I was having to use a good amount of my skill just to get through. This was strange. I mean, yeah troop deployment was important but I hadn't even seen this sort of security on the systems of Alpha Trion for his deeper secrets. While I was never allowed to read what I uncovered from there…and I wouldn't have because I respected the old mech too much, Alpha Trion did let me work with his system to try and get in.

I flinched as I almost made a mistake. That sort of mistakes would have set off alarms all over the complex and I wouldn't have time to move out of this seat before a bot was in here putting me under arrest. I had to be careful or my friends would have to pay the price…and I would be kicked out of the Autobots to boot. Not the best situation to be in with what I was ricking and what I was trying to accomplish.

It was only six clicks later and I found myself working on what I was sure was the last defense that the system had that was stopping me. It was complex in itself and it almost had me stumped. I was making all the right strokes and yet the system kept knocking me back. I didn't understand why I was having to deal with such advanced anti-attack software simply to get to the deployment lists. I doubt that the Council was _this_ protective of their deployments of new troops. I figured that they would rather give new bots up to the Decepticons than other systems that I had broken into before for training. I mean, what could be so important about…

A ding coming from the system told me that I had finally done it. So, I focused on the screen. However, what I saw caused me to stare in utter confusion…What was going on? This…something was wrong with this. I couldn't understand what was going on. This shouldn't be right. After all that hard work I had just done…this was what I had to look forward to?

…A blank screen?

"Vox, what brings you in here?"

I jumped out of my seat and stared toward the door. I knew that voice and I knew that I was in some major trouble now. It was the voice of the one bot I had been worried about during this little operation of mine. It was Alpha Trion and I couldn't read the look on his faceplate…and that bothered me. Was he angry? Disappointed? Confused? I couldn't tell and I could only wait for the inevitable.

 **Alpha Trion's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I stared at the young cadet in front of me with a studying glance. While he didn't know it yet, this little exercise was a test that I had set up along with the CBI to test Vox. He had done marvelous so far, getting further into the fake file we set up than even I suspected he would get by, but his test was not quite over yet. However, unlike the members of the CBI, I found that Vox had already passed the hard part of this exam and the easy part was to come. They disagreed with me. For most cadets, I would tend to agree with them. But, unlike the members of the CBI, I knew Vox since he was younger.

The first solar that I had met Vox and his three other friends was still ringing in my processor. I had been making my way to Fortress Maximus to start my early routine for the solar when, to my surprise, I had run into Ultra Magnus heading in a different direction. When I had asked the Magnus where he was off to, he said that he was going to visit some friends of his. Then, to my surprise, he had asked me to come along with him. I had been curious as to what sort of friends would distract Ultra Magnus from checking in at Fortress Maximus and so I had agreed to go with him. Soon, I had found myself standing in front of the home of Joint, a retired war medic who then ran a housing unit for orphaned younglings.

Flashback.

 _As Ultra Magnus led the way inside, I found myself glancing around curiously. I knew that Ultra Magnus was friends with Joint and her team, Team Galaxy, but I hadn't thought he was close enough friends with them to delay checking in at Fortress Maximus. Something else had to be going on and this was probably the easiest and best way for me to find out._

 _Pedesteps from up ahead caused Ultra Magnus and I to stop in our walking. I was slightly tense, however, since the pedesteps were slow and stuttered. Joint had been known to race wherever she went, one time I had been witness to her almost running into councilmech Dragstrip…not a pretty sight that situation, and Blockade usually kept a faster pace to keep up with his bondmate._

 _But, these pedesteps didn't sound like either of them. But, Ultra Magnus didn't seem concerned and I had a feeling that he knew more than he was letting on. If the Magnus didn't think something was wrong then I would keep calm and have faith._

 _The owner of the pedesteps finally came around the corner and, while I could hear a slight chuckle come from Ultra Magnus, I was able to get away with just raising an optic ridge slightly. While I had been prepared for many different scenarios, this wasn't one of the ones I could have imagined. Of course, this wasn't something that one came across every solar._

 _My first mistake had been to assume that the pedesteps were coming from one bot. Instead, it was coming from two bots who were glued together by their backplates. And those two bots had black and green paint covering them along with red sparkles. It didn't take me too long to realize that the bots in front of us had become a victim of a prank. It was probably from the orphans that they were raising. Thankfully, my little mech at home didn't pick up a pranking habit. Instead, the young mech took up studying as a habit._

" _Joint, Blockade, good solar." Ultra Magnus greeted the bonded pair…who were now stuck together as well, as they stopped in front of us._

 _Joint, who was the bot facing us, smiled and nodded her helm. "Good solar Ultra Magnus…and good solar councilmech Alpha Trion."_

" _Good solar Joint and Blockade." I greeted the femme and her mate._

 _Ultra Magnus let out a chuckle while motioning to the two. "I'm guessing that they are out of recharge?" They? The bots that we were coming to see were responsible for this?_

 _Laughter came from Joint as she nodded and motioned behind her to her bondmate. "Yeah, and since we've been caught in the morning prank, you two should be safe for this visit. No need to repeat the sting and pink glue incident." While I was confused by that last statement, I could tell by the embarrassed look on the Magnus that he knew what that meant and it had to do with him._

… _Now that I thought about it, there was a meeting where he came in and I thought I saw some pink paint, which I know realize could have been glue, that was stuck to the side of his helm._

 _A cough came from Ultra Magnus. "Yes, well, as much fun as memories from the past are, I am assuming that they are in your rec room?" I was assuming that he was asking about whoever it was that we were going to see._

 _Joint nodded and spoke. "Yeah they are. Oh, and Blockade wants me to tell you that he wishes he could talk right now but his lip components got glued together by this little prank. They should be happy that you are here." She then motioned toward the stairs that would take her to the next story. "Now, if you both would excuse us, I think my bondmate and I would like to get cleaned up."_

 _I nodded. "Of course, Joint. I'm sure Ultra Magnus can show me the way to the bots."_

 _She nodded before the two of them slowly made their way toward the stairs. While I was curious to see how they would be getting up the stairs in that condition, Ultra Magnus moving down the hall from where Joint and Blockade came from caused me to follow my leader. It wasn't long before we came to a door and he opened it to Joint and Blockade's rec room._

 _Ultra Magnus got inside first and, while I made my way inside, I heard four distinct vocals greet him. "Ultra Magnus!"_

 _Once I made my way next to Ultra Magnus, I saw that there were four younglings now attached to Ultra Magnus' pede. Two were femmes and two were mechs and they all seemed so excited to see the Magnus. Ultra Magnus let out a chuckle before saying, "It is nice to see the four of you as well…and not being a part of your morning prank. But, I have a friend with me that I wish to introduce you all to."_

 _The four of them stepped back and they seemed to just realize that I was with Ultra Magnus. All of them stared at me, though I noticed that the two mechs were studying me closely, before I decided to speak. "Hello younglings, I am councilmech Alpha Trion, though you can simply call me Alpha Trion if you wish." I didn't expect us to be visiting younglings this solar and I was lightly taken off guard. But, as I studied the younglings, I was beginning to realize why Ultra Magnus visited these four. They were around the age of the little mech I had at home and, like him, they seemed to be full of curiosity and life._

… _Of course, I had to make sure to watch for their pranks. If they could prank a scout like Blockade and his bondmate, then they were clever little younglings._

 _Movement from in front of me caused me to refocus my attention on the younglings as the tallest of the group, one of the femmes, stepped forward. I was surprised that she was a triple changer…she might even be the only one on the Autobot side right now, and I was surprised that she had lime green optics instead of the normal blue of Autobots. Her black and lime green plating was clean and I wouldn't have suspected that she had set up a prank so devastating on Joint and Blockade._

" _Hello Alpha Trion. I'm Pandimala and it's nice to meet you." This femme, Pandimala, introduced herself. Thanks to the femme's introduction of herself, I remembered that most bots in housing already had designations, unlike the young mech I had at home._

 _The other femme then stepped up and smiled widely before running up to me and hugging my pede. "My name's Tana and we are going to be friends!" She was the second shortest in the group and she was silver in coloring with black stars on her shoulders and she had light blue optics. She looked like she would be an alt. terrain bot when she got older from how her plating was forming._

 _I was taken slightly aback by this before Ultra Magnus leaned close to my audios. "Don't worry, that's how Tana greets most bots." Ah, so this was just how she was like._

 _Nodding in understanding, I focused as the first of the mechs walked forward. He would definitely be a two-wheeler when he grew up. He, surprisingly, was the shortest out of the group in front of me. Normally, bots that were as lithe as him were usually not the shortest bots around. Femmes, when they were younger, would normally be shorter. But, that was not the case here. The mech in front of me was black with a blue flame decal on his chest plate. His medium blue visor was staring up at me and I could see that he was still studying me._

" _It is nice to meet you Alpha Trion." The motorcycle mech started. "I am Zarron." Zarron. Not a usual designation and it caused me to wonder where the bots who named him that got it from._

 _However, my attention was diverted to the final bot, and the second tallest, as he walked up. His dark blue and dark gold plating was unusual and his blue optics were studying me even more intensely than Zarron's visor had been. It made me curious as to just what this young bot wanted to be when he got older…if he even knew. "Hello, my name is Vox and it is nice to meet you sir." The young bot's optics never left mine as he greeted me._

 _He was an odd bot and, surprisingly, I found myself wanting to know more about him as well as his three friends. "It is nice to meet you four. I'm afraid that Ultra Magnus here has not mentioned you to me before and I would like to ask what your goals are for when you grow up."_

 _Ultra Magnus looked annoyed at my statement, which I smirked at slightly, before Pandimala started off answering me. "When I get older, sir, it is my dream to become a Prime and lead my own team out in the fight against the Decepticons." Well, she was very dedicated to her goal. I could tell that much just with the way that she answered me._

 _Zarron then decided to go next. I had a feeling that he was going to want to be a Cyber-Ninja. "Sir, when I get older, I hope to some solar become the best scout that the Autobots have ever seen." Well, that certainly was a surprise. I had figured that he would want to be in the Cyber-Ninja core with how his frame was. Guess that would teach me to assume based off appearances._

 _While I wanted to guess what Tana would say when she stepped up, I realized that I had already been dreadfully wrong about what Zarron wanted to be and to assume that Tana wanted to work in a social like job, like a receptionist or maybe even in politics might put me in hot oil. So, I held off on guessing what she wanted to be until she answered me. "Sir," Tana started. "when I get older I want to be a warrior and, hopefully, I can one solar join the Guardians!" She then danced around in excitement of her own that told me that she would be dedicated to that goal._

… _The Guardians? Most bots, even younglings, knew how hard it was to gain access into the Guardians. It was far easier for a bot to become a part of the Wreckers then to even hope of being a Guardian. I knew Hinge as a friend for a long time, since before the War even started, and I knew that he was very particular about who joined his group. In total, there were only five Guardians and they had been started well before the War. The odds were not in the femme's favor but I could tell that she would make a fine warrior with how determined she was…regardless if she didn't get into the Guardians like she wanted._

 _Finally, Vox stepped forward and I paid attention. He caught my curiosity with how he had been studying me and that studying had made me curious as to what exactly he wanted to do when he got older. "Alpha Trion," I was surprised when Vox started with my designation. "when I get older, I wish to become an intelligence officer."_

 _An intelligence officer? Well, I would have to keep my optics on this young mech. I was close with many of the intelligence agencies here on Cybertron, including both the CIA and the CBI, and if this mech worked hard, I had a feeling that he would be able to earn his place among either of those groups, or maybe something more._

End of Flashback.

During one of my later visits, Vox had confided in me that he really hoped to become a part of the CBI when he grew up. So, I had kept my optics on him and was astounded to see that he had grown into a fine mech who would be a great asset to the CBI. I had been the one to ask the CBI to consider him as a possible candidate and, when I had received a call two solars ago saying that they wanted to test Vox, I asked if I could personally give him this last part of the test.

Together, the CBI and I had devised this plan to force Vox into using his hacking abilities to the best of his abilities. I knew, from all the times that I had visited the young mech, that he was very close to his friends and would risk anything to make sure that they were kept safe and that their own dreams could come true. We had brought Stix into our plan, since we knew that he was an acquaintance of Vox's, and had him send that message about the 'forced study abroad' order that would push Vox into action.

And now, here I was, standing in front of Vox as he looked up at me with a look of defeat. Of course, in that look, I could also see that he was studying me as well. It made me wonder what he was thinking but, before I could get into that with him, I had to finish this trial.

"Sir, I was hacking into the Autobot database to access the list of cadets that would be in the running to be forced to leave Cybertron for the study abroad assignment." Vox answered my question almost immediately.

Well, he certainly hadn't changed since I had seen him last. He was bluntly honest and wouldn't try to hide what he was up to. If he was caught he could come right out and say it…and that was proven last time I met him when he was caught pranking the entire council with the two-wheeler twins Geo and Helio. Well, technically the twins didn't get caught, and Vox didn't give them up, but I had noticed them earlier and put two and two together. But, Vox had admitted his part in the prank immediately and had to pay a fine for disrupting the Council meeting with his prank. It wasn't much but it had confirmed that he still had the honesty that I was looking for in a bot who would be a part of the CBI.

Now, in the present, I had to continue to question him. "Why would you risk you status with the Autobots to do this?" I had to see how he would answer. While many bots who we would test like this would lie and say some bull-scrap excuse, I knew that Vox wouldn't do that.

And I was proven correct as he answered me. "I was making sure that none of my friends who had dreams to accomplish here on Cybertron would not be affected by this order. I would risk anything, even my own status among the Autobots and my own dreams, to make sure that they could have theirs. My friends would have followed this order to leave Cybertron, even if they knew that it would destroy their dreams, and I had to make sure that they would not be put into that situation."

That was the best response that I had heard to this challenge and I knew that I had been right about the young mech in front of me. He would give up anything to protect his friends and he would be honest about what he was doing if he was caught. That was what we needed in the CBI. It would help us root out corruption on our planet that much more efficiently. "I see." Was the response I finally gave to the mech in front of me.

To my surprise, the mech rose from where he was seated and made way to leave the room. What was he doing? "I'll…I'll go and gather my possessions sir."

Why was he going to do that? "Why would you do that Vox?" What was this young mech getting at?

Vox looked surprised at my question and I seemed to take him off guard before he finally answered me. "W…Well sir I hacked into the Autobot database with the intent to change records. Usually, that is look on as treason and a bot is to be stripped of their Autobot status before being sent off-world into exile. So, I was going to gather my things before I was sent away."

That…I let out a chuckle at his response. He still didn't realize what this was. To be honest, I had missed him entering Fortress Maximus and, if it wasn't for the fact that I knew to look out for him for this test, then Vox would have gotten away with this. "No young mech. While normally that would be the case…these are not normal circumstances." His faceplate went blank with confusion and I could tell that I was going to have to explain. "The file that you were trying to change was a fake file that we made to test you. We were curious as to how many of our firewalls you had the capability of getting through. While these weren't our hardest ones, even I was surprised that you were able to make it all the way through."

… "This was a test?" Vox finally got out and I could see that he was working on connect all of these dots that which would lead to what I was going to reveal.

"Yes, this was a test to see if you had what it takes to be a part of the CBI. I must say that you passed with flying colors Vox. I figured you would but it is glad to see it become a reality." I responded to Vox's question.

For a click, I thought that the mech was going to pass out in shock and so I went to help steady the young mech. Thankfully, it was just the shock of this getting to him and I helped him sit back in the chair behind him. "I'm…this…does this mean I'm now a CBI agent?" Vox asked me slowly and deliberately.

Nodding, I motioned to him. "As long as you agree. Technically, you haven't said if you would like to accept this offer of being in the CBI."

He stared at me in surprise for a nano before he shook his helm. "Well, let's take in the facts. I could either be shipped off of Cybertron for breaking the law or I could accomplish my dream of becoming a part of the intelligence force. I think the choices speak for themselves. I accept being in the CBI, Alpha Trion."

Perfect. With more bots like Vox in the CBI, I was seeing great things coming to Cybertron. Motioning to the door, I spoke to the new Intelligence Agent. "Well then, come with me and we can get you set up. I'm sure you are going to enjoy it Vox."

Once the young mech was up on his pedes, I walked to the door and started to lead the way to CBI headquarters. I saw a bright future for Cybertron and I couldn't wait to see how this mech would help bring it forward. However, I knew that time could not be rushed and I had to wait until it was time before moving forward.

It would be a difficult wait.

* * *

 **Vox: *sighs in relief* Thank Primus that went alright. I thought I was a goner. But, instead, I'm now a part of the CBI!**

 **Authoress: *smirks* Yes, you are safe for now. But, there are five more of your friends that still have to go through stand alone chapters.**

 **Zarron: *frowns* Scrap that's not good. we know that Pandimala is probably going to be last but that leaves four more of us who are still on the chopping block. This is not good.**

 **Pandimala: *nods* I'll make sure to watch out for all of you. Authoress is a tricky lady who should not be underestimated.**

* * *

 **AN: And here is the next chapter of this story! I hope you all enjoyed this! It looks like Vox is locked into his dream job of being in the CBI. It was quite a fun march to get there though. Plus, I added in Alpha Trion to all of this to give a little more backstory. Plus, I also wanted to show that poor Joint and Blockade went through many pranks...as did Ultra Magnus. XD Future chapters are going to be so much fun! I'm not sure who I am going to focus on next chapter but please stay tuned! I'll try to update s quickly as I can but I can't guarantee whenthat is going to be.**

 **Well, that's all I have to say for now. Please leave a review, even to say hello! Until next time though, TTYL! *watches The Rifleman and has fun***


	7. The Agency Finds You

**AN: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.**

* * *

 **Remcy: *gulps* This isn't good at all.**

 **Balm: *confused* What isn't good?**

 **Remcy: *motions to chapter* It's my turn. *looks but doesn't see Authoress* Where's the Authoress?**

 **Pandimala: *walks in* Authoress is out in the wilderness somewhere riding four-wheelers through the woods in the middle of nowhere.**

* * *

Ch. 6: The Agency Finds You

 **Casius' 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I grumbled as I shifted through the blank test forms in front of me. Once every stellar cycle, I was to help pre-go through the bots signed up for our entrance exam. While it was common knowledge among the common bots that we would automatically accept the top five entrants of this exam…that wasn't quite true. Most of the time, we used this exam to let bots in, that's true, but when they got in, they went under the second half of the 'exam'. We would bring them to the Agency and, when they got to the main control room, which would obviously be empty, there would be an 'attack' on our systems. At that point almost all of the cadets would panic and run out of the room screaming. Actually, we hadn't had a prospect pass that part of the exam for thirty stellars now.

Bots these solars…they expected everything to happen in a certain way and for everything to be told to them. If there was a surprise, most bots would say that life was 'unfair' and that they would complain and try to use political means to get what they wanted. It was deplorable. What was worse, we were having to hire more and more of these brats by the solar.

Picking up the list of signed on candidates to take the test tomorrow, I sighed and shook my helm. More idiot bots. While five were guaranteed to pass the first part of the exam, I could tell that many of these bots would get into the CIA simply because they had sires and carriers who were in high office. One of the first designations on this list was called Klink, and I knew that his sire was an aide to councilfemme Setback. Definitely had some connections in high places that would let that slagging youngling into the CIA.

I scrolled down the list and, again, I found another name that registered with me. Remcy. His sire worked in cyber-engineering and had worked on many large projects that gave him a lot of connections…I even heard that he knew Ultra Magnus personally. Then his carrier was a space bridge technician who worked closely with headquarters to keep the nexus running. In short, this mech had all the connections in existence he needed to get into the CIA. Sometimes, I wished we functioned like the CBI in scouting out our recruits. But, we needed more bots than the CBI because we were spread out throughout all of our colonies…though recruitment could only happen on Cybertron.

There were many other bots on this list who had connections but it was those two that stood out to me. They would be spoiled rotten and, if they were able to get into the CIA, I would use every resource that I had possible to make their stay a living Pit and, if possible, get them to leave the CIA. There was a point when I was just starting out here when bots had to go through rigorous procedures to gain access to the CIA. Those were true agents. The ones that could use their processors to solve a problem but, if they were caught in a physical altercation, could defend themselves and maybe make a dent in the enemy forces.

But, with the list of bots before me and what I knew of them, I doubted that this group would harken the return of those old times. With a growl, I stood up, the blank tests in my servo, before I left my room at CIA headquarters to give the instructors this exam. I hoped that these idiots squirmed during this written part and then felt true fear when the second part of the test began. I was tired of these young upstarts coming in here thinking they were the right servo of Primus. They were going to have to go through the darkest depths of the Pit if they were going to try and earn my respect.

 **Remcy's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

"Thanks for walking with me 'Mala." I thanked the triple changer next to me as we left academy housing and made our way toward Metroplex. They had the testing in there because they could seal off all communication lines, even private messages, from the outside so there would be no chance of cheating happening.

My friend laughed from my right as we continued our travel. "It's no problem Rem. Zarron was out with Geo and Helio. For a bot who doesn't want to be a cyber-ninja, Zarron sure helps a lot of bots who want to train." We both laughed at that before she continued. "Balm is at a medical conference with Ratchet on Andellor, Tana is training with Kradox and Warpath, and Vox is working on some projects for the CBI. I'm so glad that he got in."

I nodded at that. Vox was really lucky to have gotten into his dream job already. Hopefully, after this solar, I would be able to claim the same thing as well. But, until this test was over, my dream was still out of reach. "Speaking on Vox, what have you heard from him about where he's living?" He had told me that he was moving to CBI headquarters, where most of the bots who worked their lived, but that place wasn't exactly small and I had to figure out where exactly he was staying. It wasn't against the rules to visit and I wanted to hang out with him here again. Going out with him and 'Mala a few solars ago was great and I hoped to be able to do it again.

Thankfully, Pandimala nodded before speaking. "Yeah, Vox says that his room number is 701 in side B of the housing department of the building. When you were studying with Fleetsight Minor the other solar, Vox called and asked me to come help him move in. Not a bad sized room for a fresh-bot at the CBI to be honest. Once you pass this and get into the CIA, then we'll have to go over there and meet him for a drink. This time it'll be on me."

Yeah…last time I had ended up covering the drinks for our meeting. Neither Vox nor Pandimala were happy about that. Both of them had argued but I promised I would let them buy me drinks next time we met up. I guess 'Mala wasn't going to give Vox a say in this and, while Vox could be stubborn at times, we both knew that Pandimala had to be the most stubborn Cybertronian in existence. I bet that, if we got Pandimala and Megatron in a room for a few solars that she could make Megatron surrender just from her stubbornness alone.

…Of course the odds of that happening were a billion credits to a half.

"Whatever you say 'Mala." I chuckled as we continued to walk down the streets.

It wasn't long before we arrived at Metroplex and both of us knew this was where we were going to have to part. I had to do this part alone but I was so glad that she was able to come this far with me. I knew that she had studying to do if she wanted to reach her own dream of becoming a Prime.

"Hey Rem…good luck in there." She said before she picked me up in a hug. I was used to it by now and so I laughed and nodded. She joined in and set me down before saying, "Of course, with how good you are, I doubt that you would need it."

"Thank's 'Mala. For everything." I really thanked her.

Back on that first solar of boot camp, I couldn't have imagined that we would have gotten this far by working together. If it wasn't for Pandimala, I may have been the one who dropped boot camp and shooting my chances of joining the CIA. But, Pandimala and all my friends had stuck with me through thick and thin to get to this point. She was really a great friend and I felt like nothing would ever change that. Nothing at,

I let out an oomph as a bot who was slightly taller than I was, though not close to Pandimala's own height, shoved passed me as he made his way up the stairs. He was a dark blue four-wheel mech with a light gray faceplate and light blue optics. He seemed to stand up straight, like he had a pipe stuck up his aft, and his optics glared down at me. "Why don't you watch where you are going? I can't believe scum like you are allowed to take this exam."

This bot had some nerve! I wasn't going to allow him to get away with that. "I don't know how some bot like you is going to be able to sit and take this exam with that pipe shoved up your aft." I shot back at this idiot.

He, of course, didn't like that and marched up so he and I were less than an arms-length apart, before he said, "My designation is Klink and if some turbo-rat like you has something against me, I'll beat it out of you. And I won't be alone."

I wasn't taking his threat for a nano. "Well Klink, my designation is Remcy and I don't care what sort of names you need to call me to make yourself feel like you've got some standing, and whatever cronies you have at your backplates to push forward your empty threats, I fight my own battles and I'm not so easy to push aside."

Immediately I had to retreat back as Klink tried to shove me but, in doing that, I wasn't ready for his servo transforming into a long blade and him pointing it at me. This wasn't good and, to my surprise, I didn't see Pandimala. Where did she get off to? Had she left before Klink had shown up? "How about you take out your weapon and let's see how empty my threats are."

While I wanted to do nothing more than take out my swords and deal this arrogant mech a lesson, we were in a public place and not in a designated training ring. Fighting outside of the rings was highly discouraged here in Iacon, especially here in front of Metroplex, and it would probably look bad to the CIA if I got into a fight right now. "While I would like nothing more than to take you on, Klink, I don't want to look bad to the CIA before I even have a chance to get in."

Anger flashed in Klink's optics before he growled and held up his sword at the ready. "Then I'll make you fight!" He then took a step to lunge at me.

However, the familiar black longsword appearing at his neck cables caused everybot around us to freeze, including Klink. "Put your sword away and I'll return mine. But, if you take one more step, I won't be afraid to use this." Pandimala's voice was heavier than I had ever heard it and the look in her optics was cold. It caused me to shiver. While I had never seen her like this before, Vox had told me a time when she had gotten mad at a bully when they were younger. Was this what it was like?

The area was so quiet around us that I heard Klink gulp as his optics widened in fear before he transformed his sword back into his servo and raised his servos up in surrender. As she promised, Pandimala removed her sword from his neck cables and put it back in her subspace before she walked back toward me. She must have moved out of sight when Klink bumped into me. Just like I had been witness to before, Pandimala moved way too quietly for somebot her size. It really wasn't fair for the rest of us. Of course, I was glad that she was on my side.

When Pandimala was standing by me, I saw Klink's optics focus in realization…though they stayed wide. "You…You're Pandimala. The triple changer." He then looked between the two of us before he narrowed his optics.

Pandimala nodded. "Yes, I'm the triple changer Pandimala. But, that doesn't really matter. If this was the time and place to fight, I wouldn't have stepped in. Remcy here would have been able to take you on fairly. But, as Remcy pointed out, this is neither the time nor the place to be fighting with each other. Now, both of you," She was now addressing me as well. "get inside and take this exam. If I hear of anymore trouble between the two of you this solar, I'll be putting the beating on both of you. This is neither the time nor the place for a fight."

Klink nodded and wasted no time in running inside of Metroplex. But, I hesitated and looked up to my friends with a smile. "Thanks for that 'Mala. You're a great friend."

She laughed and gave me a shove forward. "You are too Rem. Now, get in there and make the makers of this test regret giving it to you."

I laughed at that and nodded. "Yes 'Mala. Now, I better get inside. I'll call you when I'm done and out."

We both waved at each other before I made my way inside and walked toward the testing room. Once I was there, I walked inside and glanced around. In total, I could see forty mechs and femmes sitting down at desks waiting for the test to start. In a back corner, I saw Klink talking with a blue and black hauling mech and a silver and white racer femme…of course he was also keeping an optic on me as well. Didn't blame him really. Pandimala was pretty intimidating when you got on her bad side and that was the worse I had ever seen.

But, enough of that. I was here to take an exam and, to do that, I was going to need a seat. Thankfully, I saw one open in the front on my right side in the corner next to white femme who was a little shorter than I was with violet and green markings and medium blue optics. Behind me was a black mech with lavender markings and light blue optics. Once I sat down, I turned so I could see both of them before nodding. "Hi, the name's Remcy. Who are you two?"

The mech smiled and patted me on the back once before saying, "Blotto's my name. Nice to meet you Remcy!"

Then, the femme nodded. "Yeah, nice to meet you Remcy. My designation's Scorpi. Seems like you and Klinky over there had a run in."

I glanced back to Klink for a nano before motioning toward the idiot with my helm. "You know him?"

Blotto, to my surprise nodded, "Yeah, Scorpi and I've known him since we were in boot camp. Idiot almost got us 'offlined' so many times it wasn't even funny. If it wasn't for his sire working for councilfemme Setback he wouldn't be here now. We all heard how many strings his sire had to pull to get him through boot camp and into this exam. Primus knows how many he's going to have to pull to get Klink into the CIA."

Scorpi let out a snort before she nodded. "Bet he already got the answers for this exam today." She then motioned to me before saying, "So anyways, what happened between you and Klink?"

Again, I glanced back at Klink, and saw him continuing to talk to the bots around him, before I looked back to Scorpi and Blotto. "Well, he tried to intimidate me and belittle when I was walking in. I'm not a bot who gets pushed around. Trust me on that one. So, I took a verbal shot back at him. I guess he isn't used to that because he tried to get in my faceplate and threaten me. Well, thanks to training with one of my fellow boot camp cadets, and best friends, most bots don't intimidate me."

"Yeah," Scorpi agreed with a nod "Klink's used to everybot bowing toward him thanks to his sire. Of course, Blotto and I have family in high positions so he knows not to try too much with us and that we will snap back. But, a random bot like you Remcy, no offence, he was probably shocked when you did that."

Yeah…of course these bots, who seemed to be heading toward being my friends, didn't know the rest of the story. With how they seemed to react with Klink, I had a feeling that they would enjoy what was coming next.

"So what happened next?" Blotto encouraged me on.

Smirking, I continued the story. "Anyways, bots were watching us at this point and so I told him that I wasn't really affected by his empty threats and so he pulled out a blade and challenged me to fight him there on the steps."

Both of them widened their optics. "Really? Outside of the fighting rings?" Scorpi asked me in shock.

Nodding, I continued. "Yeah, and it was around this point when I realized that the friend that I came with had disappeared. I assumed that she had left before Klink had shown up but I hadn't realized. Anyways, I told him that I didn't want to ruin my chances with the CIA but he didn't like that and took a step to lunge at me with his sword. But, he only got to take that one step before he was stopped."

Both Blotto and Scorpi looked confused at that before Blotto spoke. "Why did he stop? From when we knew Klink, once he went to attack somebot he doesn't stop. What did you do to get him to stop after one step?"

Laughing I shook my helm. "Well, it wasn't me per say. Remember that friend I told you about? Well, for a bot her size, she can move better than a cyber-ninja. She had gotten next to him without him knowing and had her blade at his neck cables before he could take more than that step. She then got him to stand down and come in here before she wished me luck and I came in."

They both looked even more surprised. "Wait," Scorpi started, "a _femme_ got Klink to stop? How? I mean, I've gotten the drop on Klink before and he wouldn't stand down. How did she?"

Continuing to laugh, I answered them. "I think it helps when that femme happens to be the only triple changer on the Autobot side and has a real mean swing with said sword. Plus, she's gotten a bit of a reputation."

I didn't think that their surprised looks could get anymore so but, to my surprise, they did and it took them a click before Scorpi spoke. "Wait…your friend…is Pandimala!?"

Smiling, I nodded. "Well, I don't know any other triple changer femme on the Autobot side. We did go to boot camp together and she, along with Balm, Zarron, Tana, and Vox are my close friends."

"Wow…" Blotto finally got out. "I can't believe that we know a bot that knows Pandimala. That's awesome." He was almost whispering it in an awe-stricken voice.

Well, since they seemed to be becoming friends, I decided that I should probably make introductions. "How about this? I'll give you both my comm line if I can have yours and I'll call you after this. I'm planning on calling Pandimala after I'm done with this exam to tell her how I did and she'll probably want to go out for drinks regardless. If we do, I'll call you both and if you aren't busy you can join us."

Both of them sent me their comm lines and nodded but did not speak. Of course, after they did, we didn't have time to speak as the proctor for the exam came in and I had to turn around so he would know that I was ready to take this. I had been waiting so many stellar cycles for this click and it was finally here. Once the test was set in front of me, I wasted no time in writing in my designation and getting started on the questions.

I stayed focused on my test and found myself almost flying through the questions. I wasn't sure who made this test but I was curious as to why these questions seemed so…simplistic. I mean, maybe it was just me. But, I was getting nervous just because they were kinda simple to answer. I would ask Blotto and Scorpi when the test was done how they thought about it. Hopefully this wasn't just me. If it was, then I was really nervous that I was answering these wrong. But, Zarron had taught me a trick when we were taking classes during boot camp and that was to never go back and change an answer unless you were one hundred percent sure that you were wrong the first time.

Since I wasn't, I continued on taking the test until, to my surprise, I soon found myself finishing the last written question. That seemed…awfully quick. While that was the last question, and I probably wouldn't fix any of the ones I already went through, I knew it would be smart to go back over the questions and see if I missed any the first time through.

But, as I started to look over the answers, something wasn't adding up right. The corner of the exam said that there were two thousand and five possible points but, with each question being worth five points each and there being four hundred questions…that should be only two thousand. I was missing something. I doubted that there had been some sort of mistake. At first my processor went to thinking that maybe they were counting points for names. But, I immediately took out that thought. This was an exam to determine if we were smart enough to get into the CIA and, if a bot needed to have points on an exam just to put their designation down…well they had issues.

But, nothing was coming to me at first and I couldn't figure out just what was wrong with this. Where were those extra points from? The test was pretty clear that each question was worth five points…no more and no less. This thought went through my processor as I scanned over the test. What the frag did this test person?...

Hang on…now that I was looking at the test…something wasn't right. I had noticed some typos early on during the test but, until now, I really didn't understand why there had been so many mistakes in this exam. But, now that I was looking at them more closely, I was seeing what was, hopefully, the final question. So, with five clicks left, I quickly wrote the question out at the bottom of the line before answering it.

"Time's up!" The instructor suddenly stated. I heard groans from the others around me but all I could do was sigh in relief. I had finished the test. Of course, whether or not I got a good grade on it was still to be determined. The instructor then picked up my test before saying, "Once I retrieve your tests, you may go and wait in the reception area. We will pull you aside one at a time to inform you if you are one of the five that will continue on. If you are not, you will exit through the north exit of Metroplex. The test is completely changed each stellar so the answers from this test will not be the same as any previous test or any future test." Since we had come in through the east exit, and the east exit was the one that the reception area was by, that meant that they wanted to keep those of us that hadn't gotten our scores yet in the dark about how many of the five had been picked.

But, since my exam had already been picked up, I didn't waste time and started to make my way to the reception area. Since Scorpi was next to me, she was soon following behind me. Of course, to avoid saying that we were cheating, neither of us said a word to each other until we got to the reception area. Then, however, all bets were off.

"Scrap that was a hard test." Scorpi started.

…Frag it! I was afraid that she was going to say that. If it wasn't for that last question I would have finished twenty clicks before the test time was over. This wasn't looking good for me at all. My processor was so wrapped up in this thought that I didn't hear anybot else come in until Blotto sat down on my other side. "Frag that was a hard test. I couldn't even finish the last question before they said that time was up. Anybot who finished that with time to spare had to be some sort of genius."

…This wasn't good.

"Hey Remcy…you're awfully quiet." Scorpi started as she stood in front of me, a concerned look on her faceplate. "How did you do on the test?"

I gulped but knew that there was no way that I could get out of answering this. So, it was better to just bite the shrapnel and get it out. "Well…if it wasn't for that last question I would have been done with all four hundred and one questions twenty clicks before it ended." I then hung my helm down. Frag this wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. After a few clicks of silence, I took a risk to glance up only to jump when both Blotto's and Scorpi's faceplates were really close to my faceplate. "Wha…what are you two doing?"

They both stared at me for a click more before Blotto finally spoke. "Mech…what are you talking about. There were only four hundred questions…weren't there?" That last part was asked in an increasing pitch. I couldn't tell if he was questioning me or feeling worried for himself.

So, I shook my head. "No…If you looked at the total points we could earn on the exam, it said that there were two thousand and five points available to earn. Each question was worth five points each, no more and no less. Since this was an exam to get us into the CIA I doubted that they were going to give us five points for putting our designations onto the exam. So, I read through it and, in short, I found a question hidden in the questions. But…I'm not sure if I was right about it. I mean, I would have finished twenty clicks early without the last question." I then put my helm in my servos. "I'm a failure."

The feeling of two servos helm slapping me immediately caused me to look back up and I saw that both Scorpi and Blotto were staring at me. "Remcy you not only finished the test early, but found a question hidden in the questions, and you think that you're a _failure_? I think you are probably,"

"Examinee Scorpi. Come and see your results." The proctor called Scorpi first.

She looked nervous and so I decided to give her some encouragement. "Don't worry Scorpi. You probably did great!" She nodded and gave me a nervous smile before she followed the proctor.

Almost two cycles passed since the end of the exam and, as of a couple of clicks ago, I was the only examinee left in the building. Like I wasn't already nervous enough. Now I had to wait until the end to see if I got in. Plus, with the odds against me since every other examinee had already been in the room, I probably didn't pass and they were going to ask me how I could do so badly on this.

Finally, the proctor walked into the room and I was nervous with how he seemed to be studying over me. That wasn't a good sign at all. "Examinee Remcy. Come and see your results."

I gulped but stood to follow the proctor. Hopefully I did well enough to pass the exam. This was my dream job and I had been working so hard on it all my existence that I couldn't imagine having to wait a whole stellar to try at it again. I might just go crazy if I couldn't get in now. But, as I followed behind the proctor to what seemed to be the testing room, I knew that this was only going to be resolved by sticking with it.

 **Scorpi's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I found myself pacing in the holding room nervously. Fourth. I was the fourth best score on the test. I had been so relieved to hear those words that I had been in shock while I was led by Metalhawk to this waiting room that I shared with three others. Thankfully, about twenty clicks after I got here, Blotto had been escorted by Metalhawk and said that he had scored the fifth-place score. He had been relieved and, honestly, so had I. Blotto and I had been friends since we were younglings and had even gone through boot camp together. I wanted to stick with him through all of this.

After him, about maybe a cycle later, Fairlake came in. I couldn't hold back the small growl at the smug look on her faceplate. She had been sitting by Klink and I had a feeling that she had made a deal with Klink for some of the answers. Guess she made a better deal than Luftmetz, the other mech in that group. She had immediately bragged that she had the third highest score in the examinee class. It took all of my will to not snap at her. Her name might sound all fair and pretty and nice, but I knew that she had a spark of ice. She was cold and calculating. Fairlake was not a femme that you wanted to associate with.

About thirty clicks ago, Klink had been shown in, much to my disdain, and bragged how he had the second highest score on the test. None of us told him what we got, and I'm sure that made him slightly nervous. That was good. Neither Fairlake nor Klink knew that the only bot that was missing was the one with the best score on the exam. Depending on who walked through that door next, they might even think that either Blotto or I were the ones that got the highest.

I was nervous, now, just because it had been so long since Klink had come in. According to how he was going on, there had only been four bots left in the reception area…and that included Remcy. But, something was off. It had been two and a half cycles since I had gone in and, from what I gathered from overhearing Klink and Fairlake, and from what Blotto had told me, each interview only took around three clicks. With forty of us taking the exam, then the revealing of the scores should have only taken two cycles. But, it was already thirty clicks passed that. What was going on with this last bot? Maybe they thought that this bot cheated even more than most of us? Guess we wouldn't find out until…

The sound of the door opening caused me to glance up and I saw both Metalhawk and Sturis, the head of the CIA, walk in. Behind them, I felt my spark lift in relief when I saw Remcy…though he looked tired. When he looked toward Blotto and I, he smiled before he walked over to us. "Hey you two. Glad you made it as well."

I let out a laugh and helm slapped him. "Remcy you idiot. I told you that you did alright. And you were all nervous and such." I let out a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his helm. "But seriously, what took so long in you getting in here?"

He laughed and motioned to both Metalhawk and Sturis, who were talking amongst themselves, before continuing. "Well, they thought I cheated."

"Wouldn't surprise me. For you to get in here, even in fifth, means that scum like you had to cheat."

I growled and turned to see Fairlake and Klink walking up to us, Klink having had talked, and soon the two of them were standing in front of the three of us. From how Klink was acting all high and mighty, he probably thought Remcy had one of the lower scores. If I were to try and think like Klink, which I shuddered to do, I would probably say that he thought Blotto got the better score than he did. Frag would he be surprised when all of this came out.

Remcy, to my surprise, laughed at what Klink said. "Oh, sorry Klink. I really didn't cheat. See, that's what took so long with my revealing. They had to get Sturis there to come down and give me a grilling because I scored too well on my exam. Even brought a medic with him, Furnia, to scan my processor drives to confirm that I didn't cheat. Never realized drive scans were so tiring though." He then let out a laugh.

Wait…just how good did he do? I figured that Klink had to miss a few of them, but just how good did you have to do on the exam to get the head of the CIA to come down to the testing and then have a medic do a drive scan on your processor just to prove that you didn't cheat?

"So just what place did you get on the test Remcy?" Blotto asked him curiously.

However, before Remcy could answer that long-awaited question, Sturis walked over to us before saying, "Hello bots. I must say that I am impressed this solar. There have been few times that I have personally come to greet the top five scorers on this test." He then nodded. "As I'm sure you know, I am Sturis…head of the CIA and, from this click forth, your new boss. Your new housing will be placed inside of CIA headquarters and will be assigned to you at a later date. Now, are there any questions you have before we begin?"

"Sir," Klink started in a pompous attitude. "how did all of us rank against each other?"

Now, I might have been hallucinating, but I could almost swear that I saw Sturis smirk before he responded. "Curious as to how you stand up to your fellow inductees and they weren't so into sharing?" The question remained unanswered as Sturis continued. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to know how much each of you has to work to catch up with each other." He then paused before motining to Blotto. "Autobot Blotto scored one thousand nine hundred and five points out of the possible two thousand and five points available."

I gave Blotto a low high five, and I saw Remcy did too, before I leaned in and whispered. "Good job Blotto. That's a pretty high score."

"Autobot Scorpi," I straightened to attention as Sturis started to speak about my score. "scored one thousand, nine hundred, and sixty points out of the possible two thousand and five points."

"Great job Scorpi." Remcy whispered to me with Blotto nodding before Sturis continued.

"Autobot Fairlake scored one thousand, nine hundred, and seventy-five points out of the possible two thousand and five." He then turned to Klink, who I noticed was glaring at Remcy, before saying, "Autobot Klink scored one thousand, nine hundred, and ninety-five points out of the possible two thousand and five." Then, Sturis turned to Remcy and I noticed that the two of them were giving each other studying looks before Sturis finally spoke. "And Autobot Remcy had the top score of the class, and the highest score I've seen in my term, with a score of two thousand and five out of two thousand and five points."

While Klink and Fairlake stared at Remcy in shock, Blotto and I low-high-fived Remcy before Blotto whispered, "Man, I know who I'm going to if I have a problem."

Remcy looked embarrassed, a light blush on his faceplates, before Sturis continued. "Are there any more questions?" When none of us spoke, he nodded. "Very well then. We shall start with a tour of headquarters. Afterwards, you will be shown to your rooms and then you are free to bring in what you need of your own personal affects. Your assignments will be sent by message and you will be expected to report to them at zero six hundred tomorrow morning."

 **Casius' 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I growled quietly to myself as I watched Sturis give the five newbies a tour of the facility. The two bots that I was afraid would get in, Klink and Remcy, were the top two scorers on the exam. I was sure that Klink definitely cheated, but no bot was going to risk getting on the bad side of his sire to prove anything, but I wish that I could say the same about that Remcy.

That bot, there was no way that he cheated…as much as it looked like he did. True, I felt slighted that some little mech that had a parent in high society was able to, not only pass my test with a perfect score for the four hundred obvious questions, but he had been the only bot to find the last question that I had purposefully hidden in the exam to hopefully take out some of the ones that were close. But, it looked like I made the test too hard for normal bots. So, it was only the fragging brats with high connections or bots that barely made the cut or, as the exception, they were strangely attuned bots like this Remcy.

But, I wasn't going to change my view on this bot yet. Sure, he might actually have a knack for intelligence work, but he didn't show the extra effort that would show a true hard-working bot. As I watched the screen in front of me, I studied the five recruits. The silver and white femme, Fairlake, she was a piece of work. There were multiple altercations at Maccadams that had been redacted by a source. Thankfully, all of the files that I had on these rookies, and hopefully temporary rookies, were un-redacted thanks to a very close friend of mine.

Then, I glanced at the file of Klink. That was another screwed up brat. His sire worked with councilfemme Setback and, to compare it mildly, Fairlake only had a fraction of a fraction of the cover-ups that Klink had. This mech was the very embodiment of the kind of Cybertronian I despised the most, and I was going to very much _hate_ working in the same agency as the mech. He was known to cause fights in public areas that would cause damage to both the bots in question and to the surrounding area and, at times, innocent bystanders. This was a reckless idiot who was a danger to those around him.

Movement on the screen in front of me caused me to focus on what was in front of me. It seemed like the final phase of the exam was starting. The alarm was sounding in the air and I heard Sturis' voice over the intercom saying to go to the basement level due to a cyber-attack. As I expected, Klink and Fairlake ran right out of the room where they had been left, the main communications room, and that left Remcy and the other two to follow.

But, to my surprise, Remcy immediately motioned to the command computers and the other two bots nodded before they sat down and started to type away. Speaking of the other two, I glanced at the black and lavender mech's file. His name was Blotto and I knew of his creators. Well, more his sire, who had helped work on Project Omega during the war. Pseubo. He seemed to make the impossible possible for that Project Omega and, due to that, I knew that he had connections. But, from how his creation was acting, I wasn't so sure anymore that he was raised with the premium grade in his servo. His carrier was a nice enough femme, Chama. She was a secretary at the Autobot Scouting Association's main building here in Iacon. Not so many connections as her bondmate but Chama was a very nice femme.

Maybe that was why this Blotto turned out so well. He didn't have many fights on his record and the ones that he had, according to the files, were mostly self-defense. He had just over decent marks on his exams from the Academy and I was curious as to what this mech could do. According to Sturis, he had been the fifth placed bot on the exam. Maybe there would be more to this mech than I thought.

Then, there was the white femme with green and violet markings. I picked up her file as I watched her type away at the console in front of her, seemingly following Remcy's orders; Scorpi. Her own creators were another matter. Kovil, her sire, and Midea, her carrier, were partners in the largest trading company on Cybertron; The Orxal Flue Trading Corporation. They controlled much of the trade on Cybertron, and even a lot off of Cybertron. To say that they had influence was an understatement. If they wanted to, Kovil and Midea could have Cybertron working at their beck and call. But, I had kept an optic on them and they just worked hard for their living. Of course, they had connections but I didn't hear much.

Scorpi seemed to be taking after her carrier and sire, and in a good way. From what I could see, she had connections with bots her own age that were on the rise. Of course, she seemed to be somewhat on the rise herself with how she was working now. She seemed to know what she was doing for the most part and only turned to Remcy every once in a while. Her past record showed a few more altercations than Blotto's did but, on most of them, witnesses had testified that she was provoked to the point of not having a choice but to fight. She would be another one that I would keep an optic out for.

Some frantic movement from Remcy caused me to focus on the brown mech with orange stripes. He was typing away at his console like his very existence depended on it. As much as I didn't like to be wrong, this mech seemed completely different from what I had pegged him as. Boryll, Remcy's sire, was a cyber-engineer that had many close connections with politicians here on Cybertron. I was pretty sure that Boryll was even considered a friend of Ultra Magnus. He was asked to do major projects all the time. Elbra, his carrier, was a space bridge technician that had many connections due to her efficiency. Both were nice enough and weren't into anything troubling from what little I could pull up before this exam.

Then, there was the mech himself; Remcy. Despite my obvious dislike of bots who had connections like Klink and Fairlake, I hadn't actually looked at his personal record. I guess I allowed Klink's file to speak for both of them. That wasn't right and so, while the three new recruits were typing away at the fake attack on the main system, I opened the young mech's file and read it. He was still a youngling at 1.85 million stellar cycles old. For his boot camp he was trained by…Kup? That old timer was in charge of his training? He was a very reputable bot and knew how to train younglings into decent bots. I looked over the mech's team and, at what I saw, I spared him another glance.

While there were a couple designations ringing a bell in my processor, it was one single designation that caused me to really take back my previous notions on Remcy. He was training with a femme that had, not long after her Academy training started, was given the nickname War Trap. It wasn't a flattering nickname but it described the femme in question pretty well. From her first solar of boot camp to the present, this femme was known for having the training equipment start using real rounds without explanation. The ICD was investigating her case but they had yet to even find a cause for the change. Remcy was more than capable of being in the field if he was in training camps with her since the beginning of her training. Pandimala. That femme was a magnet for disaster, from what I had heard, and so Remcy might just be something more than I thought.

Glancing back at the screen, I saw that Scorpi, Blotto, and Remcy had completed the second part of the test and were relaxing against the seats in the control room. Yes, I would have to keep my optics on these three. For now, though, I sent Sturis the signal that they had completed the second part of the exam and that it was alright to let everybot else up and to show the new recruits to their new rooms here.

Who knew what the future was going to bring?

* * *

 **Remcy: *relieved* That...wasn't so bad. I am in the CIA, no one got killed, and Pandimala got to be a bad-aft. All in all not bad.**

 **Pandimala: *nods* Yes, and plus you are now clear for the chapters. Only three more to go before me. I wonder who will be next?**

 **Authoress: *twigs and leaves in hair* Who knows? It could be anybot! *laughs evilly***

 **Pandimala: *raises optic ridge* You know that laugh loses its affect because of the state of your hair...right?**

 **Authoress: *pouts* I know.**

* * *

 **AN: And here it is folks! I hope you enjoyed seeing how Remcy got into the CIA! I had a lot of fun with the chapter and I threw in two new characters (as friends) just for the heck of it! *Scorpi and Blotto complain in background* Anywho, I didn't know who I was doing when I finished this chapter but, thankfully, I finished this a few days ago (there was no internet where I was so I couldn't upload it) so I do know who the next bot is. You will too because this is going to be...a double update! I was able to get the next bot's chapter done so you all won't have to wait for days for me to upload it!**

 **On a side note, I enjoyed the part where Pandimala stopped Klink a little too much. *whistles innocently***

 **Oh, and I did base Klink off of a character from an older television show. If you can guess it I will be happy!**

 **That's all for now though. Please leave a review, even if it is to say hello. Until then though, TTYL! *wants to cuddle with a puppy***


	8. Information is Strength

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.**

* * *

 **Pandimala: *looks around* Has anybot seen my swords?**

 **Balm: *shakes helm* No. I was giving Alpha Trion a check-up when that happened.**

 **Pandimala: ...Where are Zarron, Vox, and Remcy?**

 **Tana: *growls* I don't know but they better not be getting into any trouble with them!**

* * *

Ch. 7: Information is Strength

 **Nightingale's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

A smirk played on my lips as I studied my previous pupil from afar. Zarron had indeed grown into a fine mech who would be able to become a great scout. That, I had no problem seeing happen. However, the trick was to convince the ASA, or the Autobot Scouting Association, to allow Zarron to take the entrance exam to get into the scouting academy. It wasn't as easy as, let's say, getting into the CIA entrance exam. True, while only five bots passed from the CIA exam, no matter your score, and as many bots who got over a certain score got into scouting academy, the trick was getting _into_ the exam in the first place. With the CIA, anybot could enter into the exam, as long as the bot wanting to take the exam allowed the CIA access to their entire files.

However, with the ASA, things worked a little differently. A committee put together by the ASA would select individuals from their Academy records who showed high promise in doing well on the exam. Then, the committee would contact a trainer from the Academy to set up a training exercise for the next group that the target was a part of to be specifically geared to test for scouting qualities. Then, if the target performed well enough, then they would receive an invitation to come to take the exam at Metroplex. After that they just had to score above a certain number before they were allowed in.

Of course, there were other ways to get into the scouting academy but, knowing Zarron, this would be the way that he would want to get in. True, I could get one of my contacts to study Zarron and look for the qualities right away. If Zarron got a recommendation from a board member of the ASA, then he could skip everything and go straight into the academy.

But, again, that wasn't Zarron. He didn't want to get in just because he knew somebot who knew somebot. Instead, he was the kind of mech who liked to work his way into what he wanted. I remember one time, during training, I was teaching him a way to move your pedes silently and, at first, he just couldn't get it. So, I had offered to get him an upgrade to his pedes that would give him that sort of stealth. But, Zarron had completely refused my offer and said that, if he couldn't be the best scout out there with what Primus created him with, then he would just be the best that he could.

Now, however, I was watching as he maneuvered through a new course that the Academy set up. Thankfully, Pandimala was not here or I would be worried about Zarron's safety during this. That poor femme…even though she had some issues when she was younger, mainly her weapons and not being able to control them, it was a miracle that she survived after her first solar at boot camp. Even I heard of her nickname, War Trap, and it was unfortunately justly earned.

But, back to Zarron, he was moving across this practice field like a professional. He always had a natural talent for being a scout, as surprising as it was given his frame type, and I could see the fluidity of that natural talent as he seemed to almost glide around triggers that would give away positions. From what I could tell of this, the objective of the training exercise was to take down a target that was behind heavily fortified lines and from the lack of 'blaster' fire from the other cadets, then this was probably a no-blaster combat zone.

"As diligent as always Nightingale."

I smirked as I heard the familiar mech voice behind me. That mech had showed up behind me a few clicks ago and thought he was being sneaky. But, I knew that he had been there. Marsh and I went through boot camp together and I had to say that, if I didn't know him, then he would get me every time he tried this scrap. It would be funny if he didn't do it every time he came up to me.

So, I sighed at his greeting before saying, "Hello Marsh. What brings you here?"

He let out a laugh before sitting next to me, the cheeky mech, and motioning out to the practice field. "So, I thought you would have seen enough of this place to steer clear of here for the rest of your existence if you could help it. You tell me what brings you here and I'll let you know what brings me here."

Raising an optic ridge at that, I motioned to the practice field where Zarron was working before deciding to answer him vaguely. "I'm keeping track of an investment I made a while back."

"Well," Marsh started with a laugh. "I'm actually here on business." Business? What sort of business did he have here? "The ASA asked me to assess a bot that they have had their optics on for some time. But, we haven't been able to get near him because one of our operatives has been getting in the way. Finally, however, we were able to talk to the instructors and set up this field. I've been watching the bot for the entire time this solar and, by the looks of it, I'm going to be able to give a good assessment to the committee."

Wait…I've been watching the bots here all solar and the only bot that was any sort of scout material… "The committee is looking at Zarron?" I asked him excitedly.

Marsh, in return, let out a laugh. "Took you long enough 'Gale. The committee has been looking at him for a while now but you have always been around to interfere with our investigation plus they didn't want you to tip off Zarron that we were considering him. So, we had to keep our distance for a bit." Marsh then paused and looked out onto the practice field as Zarron moved from location to location. It was almost impossible to see him as he moved across the field. "You did good 'Gale. You did fragging good training that mech."

Honestly, while I loved the praise coming from Marsh, Zarron had earned the right for me to correct him. "Honestly Marsh, I didn't do much. Besides a few special techniques, Zarron fought for this all his own. Those friends of his really supported him and helped him train for this. Honestly, they seem closer than Blockade's team had been, and you even heard about how close they were."

He nodded at that before sitting down. "Yeah. Rumor was that Team Galaxy worked so well together that some thought that they could read each other's processors. If those friends are even closer, I bet that they will make a kick-aft team when they are skilled enough to create their own."

The exercise then ended with Zarron and another bot cutting into the two target bots that were their objective. Immediately, the system shut down and I heard a ding come from Marsh. I looked and saw that he had a data pad in his servos and was looking it over. Since I knew I shouldn't get involved in this, I stood and started to walk away while saying, "Well, I'll leave you to it Marsh. Meet me at Radar's tonight at eight to let me know." I then transformed and sped off without giving him a chance to refuse.

As I moved through the back streets of Iacon, though, I found my processor wandering toward that group of bots. Originally, when I was training with Zarron, they were just four. Pandimala, the triple changer with the dream of being a leader and strength for her friends, Vox, and his want to know information to keep his friends safe, Tana, the strong warrior who would fight to her last intake to keep her friends away from harm, and Zarron, the mech who would move silently through whatever dangers he had to make sure that he could keep one step ahead of the enemy.

Now, from what I had observed, there were to more added to this budding team. Remcy, the hacker who would stand for what was right, and not what would help him move forward in existence, and finally Balm, the apprentice medic who cared for her friends and would work hard to make sure that they were healthy and well taken care of.

Individually, they were strange bots. I would say that without hesitation. However, together…well, I had a feeling that they were going to change Cybertron into something that hadn't been hoped for in stellars. I wasn't sure how it had happened, but something had been sparked in each of those six bots to introduce change to Cybertron…and at a time that it needed changed most.

Cybertron, since the Autobots had forced the Decepticons off-world, had become a political scrapyard. Bot's would move ahead due to who they knew and what position they held. While I wasn't online before the War broke out, I did talk to many bots who were and, from what they spoke of, we had been heading toward the corrupt society that had sparked this War in the first place.

Yes, while the fighting on Cybertron was done with and the Decepticons themselves had grown so quiet, I knew that the War was still going on. It would surprise me, at times, to hear bots talking about the problems in the outer reaches like they were just squabbles. From the talk I would hear at times, you would think that the War was over.

But, I knew that wasn't the case. While I had never seen the Decepticon leader, I had heard enough to know that he was not the kind to back down. I had a feeling that, wherever the Decepticon command was, they were making plans to strike back at us. We had to be ready for whatever dangers and fights that would come ahead.

 **Zarron's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

"If you move again, I swear that you will regret it."

I gulped at the voice coming from behind me. That tone told me that if I dared even think of moving, then I would be done for. This was a very serious situation and I wanted to take the most caution in dealing with it. One wrong move from me, and I would find myself losing a limb or two for a couple of cycles. This wasn't your run of the mill situation that I was dealing with. No, this was a delicate situation that had top priority in my processor.

So, I slowly answered the bot. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

THWACK!

A yelp escaped me as I rubbed my helm. That might not have been the smartest thing to say in this situation but I couldn't help it. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up and I knew that another opportunity wouldn't come for a while.

"Zarron I swear that I'll rearrange your limbs if you don't keep still. And I'm serious." Balm said as she came around the med berth from behind me to face me. I was in for my ninety-solars check-up and she was to the point in her training where she could give check-ups on her own. "Now, from the looks of my report here, you're fit as can be Zar. So, if you want, you can rinse off in the washracks down the hall there while I clean up. Then, I'll give you this report to give to your instructors so they know that they can keep training you." She then shooed me away.

Taking the offer for the rinse, I walked down the hall before finding myself in the washracks. It wasn't long before I had the warm water on and I felt my chassis relax. Lately, I found that the team exercises that I had been doing with the Academy were becoming more scout oriented 'missions'. That meant that more of the work was being placed on me and I had to use more of the training that I had learned from Nightingale to get the 'missions' done. That meant a lot of stress on my systems and a lot of curiosity going through my helm.

That curiosity was peeked the previous solar during practice. I had noticed a bot studying me in the distance but I didn't recognize him. I knew it was a mech from what I could briefly observe during orientation for the mission and during the mission itself. Of course, Nightingale was there like she was every other solar. I had learned how to see her without her seeing me a long time ago. I wondered if she still thought that I didn't know she was there.

What was strange was that the strange mech had eventually made his way over to Nightingale and, from what I had observed, they seemed to know each other. I sent Vox a picture of the mech early this solar in hopes that he could get me some information on the mech so, if I saw him again, I would know who he was and maybe figure out why he was studying me. Vox got back to me a few clicks ago, during my check-up, and said that he would get the information to me as soon as possible.

A message from Vox suddenly popped up in my processor and so I opened it. _"Here's his designation for now. It'll take me another cycle to get the rest of the information on him. Figured you would like his designation at least though. It's Marsh."_ Marsh. Alright, that was a step in the right direction. I remembered Nightingale once telling me that she had gone through boot camp and was friends with a mech called Marsh. But, he had been watching me before he went over to Nightingale, and before she had even showed up. What had he been doing watching me? So, I sent Vox a thank you over the message system before continuing with my rinse.

After a few more clicks, I turned off the water and thoroughly dried off before making my way back to the med bay. I had to get my check-up report from Balm and give it to my instructors. All cadets in the Academy, who had not been outsourced, were required to have a medical check-up every ninety solars and this solar happened to be mine. If a bot had not had their check-up, then they were not allowed to be in any sort of training exercises until they were. The Autobots wanted to make sure that each bot was in fit enough condition to attack the trials that would be placed before them.

"Hello, c…can I help you?" I heard Balm's voice echo down the hall.

Since she stuttered slightly, I realized that whoever Balm was talking to was a bot that she had not met before. Whoever this was must also be an unexpected visitor since, from what Balm had told us one solar when all six of us were able to take a break and meet at Slapjack's, that Ratchet would normally tell her if he was expecting somebot that she didn't know and would give a description of them.

Balm had come a long way since boot camp and her nervousness was almost non-existent now-a-solar. But, when it came to bots she didn't know, Balm was still slightly nervous around them. It would probably be best for me to remain in the shadows and observe this new bot and make sure that everything was alright.

So, as I stayed to the shadows, I heard a mech voice answer her. "Yes, I believe you can. But first, I believe that we must introduce ourselves. I am called Marsh." Marsh! That was the name of the mech that had been watching me the other solar. This couldn't be a coincidence at all. So, staying hidden and moving carefully, I entered the med bay and saw that it _was_ the same bot from the other solar. He was a powdered blue in color with maroon and steel gray markings. His dark blue optics were scanning the room and I knew that I had to be careful with this Marsh mech. From what I could see, he had some professional training in observing his surroundings so I had to be extra careful. Thankfully, I learned a trick from Nightingale during our training that would be perfect for this situation.

"And m…my designation is Balm. Ratchet…he isn't here right now so I'm not sure what I can help you with?" Balm answered Marsh hesitantly.

Marsh let out what sounded like a comforting laugh before he said, "Don't worry Balm. I was actually here hoping you could help me with something." I could see Balm looking nervous as Marsh brought out a holodisk and soon, like I suspected, a hologram of myself came up. "I was wondering if you know where he went. My sources say that he had a check-up here this solar around this time but I'm afraid that I'm later than I wish. Could you possibly tell me where he went?"

I could tell that Balm was nervous about what to do and I didn't want her to have to lie when I knew I could take care of this part by myself. So, since I had made my way behind the mech, I took a silent step into the light before speaking. "It depends on what you want from me." He jumped and turned around to face me with surprise in his optics. "Marsh…that's your name I believe. I am Zarron and I must say that, next time you want to ask me something, just ask me straight out. I'm a talkative bot and I'll strike up a conversation if you want." I held out my servo for him to shake in greeting.

Thankfully, he did and, after a few nanos, he pulled it back. "I guess you're even better at moving without being heard than I thought. It's good to meet you Zarron. I must say, I've seen a lot of bots over my time but you're by far one of the best. Nightingale did good training you."

Balm seemed to have relaxed, from what I could see from the corner of my optic, and so I decided to test this bot in front of me. I had a feeling as to what he was doing here, and I hoped to Primus that I was right. "Yeah, Nightingale did a slagging amazing job training me. Guess you and she were good friends back in the solars. At least that what it looked like the other solar when you two were watching me train."

His jaw plate fell so fast that I thought that it was going to hit the floor. Marsh stared at me for a nano, his digit pointing at me, before he continued. "You knew that Nightingale was watching you?" Sneaky mech. He was seeing if I had only seen him due to him going to sit with Nightingale.

Well, might as well continue to shock the mech. "Oh, I knew that you were watching me since I left housing the other morning. You did pretty good at trying to stay hidden for the most part. Of course, running into Scorpi while you were following me was a bad mistake." I had known that the bot was following me, though not exactly where he was, when he had bumped into Scorpi and decided to try and get more information on me by asking her. According to Remcy, the bot was trying to get information about me from her but didn't realize that she was connected to me.

"Scorpi? How was talking to her a bad idea?" Marsh asked me in confusion. "She and you don't have a connection and she was able to tell me where you went to get your ninety-solar checkups."

I let out a laugh before saying, "Well, there were plenty of other bots who could have given you that information. All you had to do was check with the CBI if you have contacts there and they could have gotten you a file on me which would have included my registered medical center. Also, unfortunately for you, Scorpi and I do have a connection…though not as direct as one I have with others." I then paused for a nano. Since he already knew that we were connected, I guess I would let him know how we were connected. "While I have yet to me Scorpi in the bot yet, she is a co-worker and friend of my friend Remcy. They both work at the CIA together and Remcy has at least mentioned me to her, good friend he is, and so she told him about you asking questions about me immediately and he told me during that training that you watched."

Marsh faceplate palmed himself before he let out a laugh. "By Primus mech you are better than I thought by far. Of course, I bet that you don't know what I,"

"You're here to tell me that the ASA selection committee has been having you following me to keep track on what I am capable of so they could decide if they want me to take the entrance exam to the scouting academy. This solar, you tracked me down to tell me that they have decided to ask me if I want to take the exam. Well, I accept. When do I take the test?" I interrupted him with a smile. Hey, if I was already discovered I might as well show off what Nightingale taught me.

"You sure you don't already know that too?" Marsh grumbled. I smirked at that and he looked worried for a nano. "You don't do you?" Laughing, at that, I could simply shake my helm negatively in response to that. Of course I didn't. That went directly from the committee to him and the bots on the committee were changed for each both that had to be picked for this test. "That's good." He continued. "Luckily for you, your test will actually be in thirty clicks at Metroplex. If you would like, I can escort you there now?"

I smiled at that and went to nod when I remembered where I was and why I was here. "Sure, if you can wait a click. I still need my medical results from Balm here." I then turned to Balm. "So, Balm, am I healthy enough to be excused from your med bay?"

She let out a laugh at that and handed me a data pad before saying, "Yeah your as fit as ever Zar. I'll tell the others that you're going in for your test so you can focus. You can count on drinks at Slap's tonight if you can. Call 'Mala and let her know after you're done with your test if you can." I gave Balm a quick salute at that. She laughed and took out her wrench before tapping it in her other servo experimentally.

Marsh must have experience with wrench-wielding medics because both of us turned faster than a drill sergeant giving orders and bolted. Once we were outside, the two of us slowed to a walk before we started to make our way toward Metroplex. "She…she's a strange one, isn't she?"

I knew he had to be talking about Balm so I nodded. "She used to be a lot worse than that. Used to be a time, back during boot camp, when she stuttered almost every single time she talked, whether you knew her or not. She's shy for the most part. Now she usually only stutters when she first meets a bot or if it is a bot she doesn't like…and don't worry about that last part. I've only heard of two bots that she doesn't like and you aren't one of them. Once she's comfortable around you, though, she'll take out the wrench to get you moving."

He nodded at that. "I'll take that under advice. Thank you." We then walked a for a few more clicks in comfortable silence…though Pandimala insists that such a thing doesn't exist, before he continued. "Speaking of Balm, though, she mentioned a bot by the name of ''Mala'…would that happen to be Pandimala? The triple changer who has some of the worst luck that the Academy has ever seen?"

My servo met my faceplate at that. Pandimala had a reputation that everybot seemed to know of. Fortunately for him, I could answer that positively. "Yes, it was that Pandimala. She does seem to have some bad luck that's followed her ever since that first solar of boot camp. But, she wasn't always so unlucky. When we were growing up together, she was our good luck charm when we were trying to execute pranks. Got Ultra Magnus almost every single time she set one up." A small chuckle escaped me before I continued. "'Mala's a good bot with big goals. When she becomes a Prime, she wants to make a team out of Remcy, Balm, Zarron, Vox, and myself. We'll be one Pit of a team when we all come together…that I know."

To my surprise, he didn't say another word for our entire trip to Metroplex and, after he showed me to the testing room and wished me luck, I walked inside to see fifteen other bots sitting and waiting to take the exam. Hopefully I could do well enough to pass. Taking my seat by a red hauling femme, I waited for the proctor to come in and give us our tests to begin.

 **Marsh's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

"No! I absolutely disagree!"

I flinched when Bakel Major yelled that from his seat in front of me. He was not exactly the happiest mech at the click and I knew I wanted to stay as far away as possible. After the tests had been given, the committee had selected me to deliver the finished exams to them for grading overseeing. Out of the fifteen bots that had taken the test, only three of them failed…and it hadn't been by much. Maybe after another stellar of training they would be able to pass the exam.

They weren't what Bakel Major was yelling about. He was yelling about a bot on the exact opposite end of the spectrum. The highest score on the test, not to my surprise, had been from Zarron. What had surprised me…which was something else that I was finding Zarron was good at, was that he had aced the exam. Completely. He didn't miss a single question and even got the two bonus questions correct. The committee had to take the test after it was made to see how difficult it would be to the examinees and not even they did as well as Zarron did.

And yet that wasn't even what had Bakel's gears in a bind. No, what had his gears in a bind was what Trailport Major had suggested after they had finished grading the tests. No bot got even close to Zarron's score and so, combining that fact with the fact that even the committee didn't do that well on the test, Trailport had suggested that Zarron even be given a pass from the Academy and be given a teaching license immediately.

As could be heard, Bakel didn't like that idea in the slightest.

"I must say I agree with Bakel." That was Hypertrove Minor. She motioned to Trailport before continuing. "While I agree that this Zarron has surpassed all that we expected of him, the Academy pushes bots to their limits so we can know how they react in real situations against their target."

The only other femme on the committee, however, shook her helm at that. "While that is true of most bots that would normally come through, we can see from the report that Marsh here gave about when he was evaluating Zarron on whether he would be a good candidate to take this exam that Zarron is different." Terazda Major then brought up my report onto her data pad before continuing. "According to Marsh's report, Zarron knew that he was being followed by him and it didn't take him long to connect Marsh to the ASA." She then closed out of my report before continuing. "Also, Sturis and Alpha Trion are both friends of mine and, through their own connections, informed me that two of Zarron's close friends called Remcy and Vox, who work for the CIA and the CBI respectfully, both accessed file information on Marsh here and, while Remcy did not send his copy on to Zarron, Vox did. I believe that Zarron received that package about…two clicks ago."

Wait…Zarron had a friend in the CBI as well? Frag I was getting rusty and this mech was getting me at every single one of my flaws. Guess the mech wanted to have even more information on me than I gave him. When Trailport first proposed this suggestion, I was leaning more in favor with Bakel. But, now that Terazda came out with that piece of information, I was leaning more towards Trailport. Zarron was a clever mech. I was still waiting on my contacts to get me access to Zarron's file. They said something about extra firewalls and protections around it that would take them a while to get passed.

And now that I thought about it that could very well be because of his friends Remcy and Vox. Who knew what they were capable of if Zarron was anything to go on. I sent a quick note to my contacts to get me whatever they could on the rest of Zarron's boot camp. I knew that the Council and Ultra Magnus kept Pandimala's record pretty much Classified except for the basics to keep her a secret from the Decepticons until they were ready to use her in battle, but the others should be fair game.

Unfortunately, there were only four bots on the committee…to keep the chance of information leaking out as small as possible, and so that created a problem. The committee, as far as I knew, had never been so divided on an issue so they took the risk of having an even number of bots. Four had been settled on due to it being enough bots to give a variety of views but not too many to delay the processes of testing the bots. Now, however, they were split down the middle as to what to do with Zarron. I knew that Zarron was too good to start out as a first-stellar scouting academy student but obviously him jumping straight to instructor was out of the question.

Then, an idea came to my helm and I smiled. It should make both sides of this debate happy and it would show that Zarron could teach bots with the skill level he was at. Trailport seemed to notice my change in demeanor. "Marsh, from the look on your faceplate, I have a feeling that you have discovered a way to break this impasse?"

Nodding, I walked to the center of the room. "Yes, if the committee would allow it, I would like to propose a sort of middle ground that would make both sides of this disagreement satisfied." All four of them nodded and so I continued. "I propose that we enter Zarron into the academy as a fourth-stellar student. Also, bunk him with students Mirage and Hound. As you all know, this is the last stellar that they will be able to try to pass the graduation exam. As a good scout, Zarron would soon recognize the dilemma both would be facing and, given my assessment of his personality as well as the personalities of Mirage and Hound, then he will most likely start to train with them and teach them what he knows. Allow Zarron to take the end of the stellar exam with them. If he passes, as well as them, then we will give all three their teaching licenses and that would prevent us from wasting a potential teacher's time in going through classes that he doesn't need. If they fail, then Hound and Mirage will be kicked out of the academy and Zarron will have three more stellars to complete his training at the academy like he had started as a first-stellar."

I could see looks of agreement on all the faceplates surrounding me and, soon, Trailport stood up. "All in favor of the motion presented by Marsh raise their right servo." As one, the committee rose their right servos before Trailport continued. "The vote is unanimous. Bakel, if you could please inform the ASA of our decision." He nodded and started to call as Trailport turned to Terazda. "Terazda, please call the academy so they can prepare Zarron's schedule accordingly." He then turned to Hypertrove and I before smiling. "Hypertrove and Marsh, would you both accompany me as we inform the examinees as to how they fared on this test?"

I nodded, as did Hypertrove, and so the three of us made our way to the reception area where fifteen young bots were waiting to hear if they had gotten in to the academy. Alright Zarron, I had done my part. Now, you had one stellar cycle to prove to Cybertron that you were exceptional unlike any bot that we had ever seen on Cybertron. Nightingale gave you the training, and the committee and I were giving you the chance, so you had to pull your weight and show Cybertron what you could accomplish.

When the three of us walked into the reception room, I saw the confident look on Zarron's faceplate and knew that it was only a matter of time before Cybertron saw how amazing of a scout he was.

* * *

 **Zarron: *glances around* You don't think she saw us did you?**

 **Remcy: *shakes helm* No. I made sure that she was distracted. Vox helped me with that bit. He distracted her while I got the swords.**

 **Zarron: How did you get them Vox?**

 **Vox: *smirks* *holds up laser pointer* Pandimala loves chasing this thing around. It's kinda pathetic really. But, she's our friend and distracting friends for friends is what friends do.**

 **Remcy: *nods* Definitely. Now, let's get to work.**

 ***three work on project***

 **Authoress: *eating cheese puffs* This is getting too good for me to interfere. *continues to watch them***

* * *

 **AN: And here is the second part of the double update! This was a lot of fun and we got to meet some more new OCs. Since Pandimala has been a fore-runner in the other two stories, I felt like it was time to give Balm some fun in the sun. Next chapter is going to be one of the femmes, and it might be pretty easy to guess who it's going to be. But, if you don't know, you will find out next chapter. XD I'm getting excited because we are getting closer to the spiral of events that will really get the main part of this story! I'm hoping to get the last two stand alone chapters done soon so I can.**

 **Well, that's all for now. Please leave a review, even if it is to say hi. Until next time though, TTYL!**


	9. A Warrior's Soul

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.**

* * *

 **Tana: Wait...it's my turn!?**

 **Authoress: *smiles and nods* Yes and it is so going to be fun!**

 **Tana: *hesitates* Wait...why?**

 **Authoress: *smirks* What? I may have deviated from the original in this...slightly. *walks off***

 **Tana: *growls* What do you mean 'slightly'? Authroess! *chases Authoress***

* * *

Ch. 8: A Warrior's Soul

 **Tana's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I felt my spark racing in my chassis as I zeroed my sight in on the tip of that blade. How…how did this happen? I had taken in all accounts…looked at all the risks…and yet I still couldn't stop this from happening. While I didn't suffer defeat often, this was one battle that I had yet to win. I wasn't even sure if I was ever destined to win this constant battle. Of course, would that end now with this sword point aimed at my spark?

…Of course not!

"I surrender." I sighed before the blade was removed from the killing blow and the smiling face of one of my best friends could be seen.

She laughed in return before holding out a sharp digit hand. "That was a good battle Tana." Pandimala then helped me up before saying, "You almost had me that time."

Once I got steadied, I shook my helm and laughed. "What are you talking about Pandimala? Every time I think I have you, you turn around and get the better of me." And I really thought I had her. We were always working harder to get each other and, for once, I thought I had her. But, obviously that wasn't the case.

The assignment, as always, was to create battle plans. When I wasn't against Pandimala I would win every single time without question. But, out of the now six times that I've gone up against Pandimala during these four stellar cycles since boot camp, I have won a grand total of zero times. Of course, she was taking classes to be a leader, and that meant that she had to look at more possibilities on the battlefield, but this time I had the perfect plan.

This time…I only advised on the planning. Instead, I had a bot about a stellar behind our class at the academy called Tecun draw up the plans for this attack. I knew that Pandimala would be planning this battle, as practice for when she, one solar, became a Prime, but as expected of my friend, she seemed to have figured out what the plan was regardless.

The form of a figure dropping down by Pandimala caused me to raise my optic ridge in surprise. "Sorry Tana." Pandimala started before motioning to the bot that just dropped down. "But I wasn't kidding. If my team would have completely gone with my plan, then everything would have gone in your favor."

"Yes so if you want to blame anybot for you losing that would be me. Sorry Tana." The dark blue and red three-wheeler mech called Sleip smirked as he said that before he offered me a servo as well.

I took his servo, though I wasn't sure why, before I decided to ask. "Well, why do I have to blame you for Pandimala continuing her perfect record against me?"

His smirk twitched slightly before he spoke. "Well, Pandimala had originally planned on me surveying sector two on the map and staying there while keeping her informed on whoever passed me. She figured that you were going to send a distraction force through there to sector five. Well, I was on the edge of sectors two and seven when I saw something move. I decided to forego Pandimala's plan temporarily and see what it was. Of course, I had Fenrin cover for me just in case you decided to send the distraction force after all. Since I moved to seven to see what you were up to, since it was you coming after Pandimala, I was also able to see the distraction force traveling through sector eleven toward sector four. Since that was close to Pandimala it would throw her plan off and you would have a chance to surround her or even trap her yourself before fighting her off. Well, I reported this to Pandimala and you know the rest."

Yeah. Instead of me getting the drop on Pandimala, which was the plan, she had ended up getting the drop on me and she was able to stun me long enough to get me to surrender. So I _did_ have to blame Sleip for this. "Thanks a lot Sleip." I thanked him sarcastically. "I actually thought that I would get the drop on 'Mala this time." Oh well. Better luck next time I guess. He then nodded before running off toward the checkpoint.

Pandimala, thankfully, let out a laugh and nodded before saying, "Yes, I guess Sleip messed up your big moment. Better luck next time Tana." She then motioned in the direction of Slap's before saying, "You still coming tonight?"

She was talking about our seven-solar get-together that we tried to make. The six of us, that is Remcy, Vox, Zarron, Pandimala, Balm, and I would always try to meet up at Slap's with everybot who could meet up at the time. While Zarron wasn't going to be able to make this solar, since he was on Parthus with a diplomatic party to try and negotiate a trade blockade that the neutral planet had deigned in its space, the rest of us would be able to meet up and talk about everything that was new.

Thankfully, I could answer in a positive. "Of course I'm going to be there. But, I might run a little late. I couldn't get the training field that I wanted at a good time. So I'm going to be cutting it close."

Pandimala let out a laugh at that as we walked back to the checkpoint. "It's all good. I'll let the others know so you won't have to hear Balm's lecture about being on time. I swear, even though she's the youngest out of all of us, she acts like our carrier at times."

I let out a laugh with her before I responded. "Yeah, but she is a medic and it is a part of her training to care for those that she has to work on. Of course that doesn't stop her from throwing that wrench of hers at us. Ratchet could have avoided teaching her that specific skill." I then rubbed the back of my helm and winced. Last time that I was in for a check-up, I had tried to convince Balm to maybe move my next check-up so I could grab the spot open that same solar for one of the training fields at Fortress Maximus. There were waiting lists as long as you could imagine to get into those and a friend had decided to go on a trip off-world and offered to let me use his slot.

Of course, Balm wasn't so willing to move my scheduled appointment and I got a wrench in the back of the helm in response.

Once we returned to the checkpoint, Pandimala and I reported the results to our instructor for the solar before the two of us parted and I made my way to the boot camp training grounds. While I was not in bootcamp anymore, I had asked Kup if I could use the training grounds there to practice. Since he was still in charge of the bootcamp as a whole, though he didn't actually instruct like he used to, he cleared it and so I was able to use it as long as it was after fourteen hundred in the solar. That was when most groups would be done with using that side of the practice fields. That meant that they were unused and, according to Kup, that would be waste to leave them unused when somebot wanted to use them.

So, that's where I found myself walking to now. But, as I walked, I suddenly felt nervous. It wasn't for myself but it was for Zarron. That mission that he was taking as an escort was going to be dangers in its own right. Parthus was a neutral planet, true, but much of the territory that surrounded it was divided between Autobots and Decepticons. This trade ban probably shuffled some armor plating on both sides and I was worried that Zarron would be caught in the crossfire of this.

But, then I calmed down and reminded myself that Zar was a very capable scout. He had gotten through the Scout academy with his two friends, Mirage and Hound, at the top of their class and had been given a teaching license right away. While he had yet to pick a bot to train yet, I knew that there was this orange mini-bot called Wheelie that Zarron had his opitcs on as a potentially great scout. But, the plans for him to start training where put on hold when Ultra Magnus had asked him personally to go and be a scout for this negotiation mission.

And of course, Zar couldn't say no to Ultra Magnus. I doubted any of us would even if we could. We had practically grown up getting used to visits from both him and, eventually, Alpha Trion. He would tell us stories…when he wasn't in the middle of our pranks, and I knew that we all respected him.

My arrival at the training ground that I usually used caused thoughts of Zarron to go to the back of my helm. Once I typed in the training code that I wanted to use, I waited for the practice soliform to appear in front of me. I was going to be practicing against a seeker class opponent, with wings, so I could get better at predicting flyers. Maybe with that under my wheels I could finally beat Pandimala?...

…It was worth the thought.

Once the rather large seeker in front of me got into a battle-ready position, I took out my morning star and got into a good battle position. Almost as soon as I did, the soliform launched at me and I immediately countered. The energon was racing in my systems and I felt the rush of battle start to build. Fighting with everything that I had to defend what I believed in. This is what I really craved. Unfortunately, I would never reach that with the drones and soliforms that I had to practice with. However, I knew that this would have to do for now. I was dragged from my wishes as the soliform in front of me took a swipe at my helm with its sword. Immediately, I ducked before coming up with my morning star and slamming it into its faceplate.

It took me about five clicks to take down the soliform and, once I did, I stayed in place as my systems cooled off. While in battle this kind of break would not be possible, Kradox had always taught me that whenever I practiced I should allow myself to cool my processor down so I was ready to take on my next challenge with a clear mind as if I was entering the battle for the first time. It also trained my processor to make changes in my battle techniques for changing battlefield conditions. Conditions wouldn't change after each bot I fought and so I had to calm down so as to pass the time that would move on during an actual battle.

After a few clicks had passed, I finally let out an outtake before turning to the machine to start my next training exercise. Maybe I would program the machine to let me take on a leader-class enemy. Technically, that was what a triple changer like Pandimala would be placed under, and the Decepticons had triple-changers as well, so that would be great practice for any future battles I may or may not be a part of.

"Good solar."

I tensed as a brown car mech with medium blue optics walked stood next to the training machine controls. When did he get here? The training I was doing must have distracted me from staying aware of my surroundings. Slag this wasn't good. I didn't recognize the mech and I knew that I had to stay on my guard. However, since he greeted me kindly, I could at least offer the same back. "Good solar. I don't mean to sound rude, but I was just starting my training regime for this solar and I need access to that machine to do so.

A smirk showed up on the mech's faceplate before he nodded. "Yes, I am quite aware of that. I saw your little training section with the seeker soliform. Not bad, I must say." I could feel every metal shaving in my chassis tensing as this mech continued to talk. A fight was coming, that was sure, but I wasn't sure what his angle was.

However, I could at least try and get out of this without a fight. "Thank you. However, could I please have access to the terminal so I can continue? I'm meeting some friends of mine tonight and, with what I have planned for training, I'm going to be pushing that deadline as it is." And that meant another wrench in the back of my helm. Whoever this bot was in front of me better hope that I never found out his designation if that happened. Those wrenches hurt.

This mech, though, seemed to have other ideas. "You're training huh? Well, I could use a little practice myself. How about we make a deal?" He then paused, I was assuming to wait for my answer.

And, while I was nervous about him, this would also be great training experience. I didn't know this bot and it would better simulate what an actual battle would be like. However, I wasn't an idiot. He said he wanted to make a deal and I had to find out just what sort of deal he was proposing before I agreed to anything. "What's the deal?"

For the rest of my existence, I would swear that the brown car mech smirked before saying, "Well, I would like to fight you. If you win, then I will not hesitate in relinquishing control of the machine to you."

That sounded…okay I guess. But, there was still one part of this deal that I needed to be kept informed of. "So…what would happen if I just so happened to lose this fight?" He had to get _something_ out of this and I needed to know what it was.

"Well," the brown mech started. "if I just so happen to win this fight, then I would simply require that you spend all of the next solar spending time with my friends and me. We're…a group of fighters and if you fight as well against me as you did against that soliform, then they will want to meet you as well. Then maybe we could go to Radar's as a group and have a meal."

…Well _that_ didn't sound suspiciously like he was a stalker. But, I guess hanging out with this mech and his friends for one solar wouldn't be bad. I had tomorrow off anyways and nothing was really planned hanging out wise with Pandimala or the others. So sure. I guess that wouldn't be a bad thing to get for losing. "That doesn't sound so bad. I guess,"

 **Boom!**

The mech in front of me got into a defensive position and I looked into the air as the echo of the sound barrier being broken reached our audios. What was going on? Pandimala, when she was in her flight mode, had a speed limit that she was supposed to obey unless there was an emergency. And, since Pandimala wasn't one to goof off or get in trouble, then this had to be serious. _"Tana! Get to the Space Bridge Nexus now! Something's happened on Parthus!"_ I heard Pandimala yell in my audios almost nanos before she flew over both myself and the mech as she blasted toward the Nexus.

"What was…" The mech started in confusion.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any time to waste. Zarron could be in trouble! "Sorry but I have to go. Family emergency! I'll take a storm-check on that fight though." I then transformed before racing toward the Nexus.

It didn't take me long to get there and, when I did, I saw Pandimala, standing in front of the space-bridge operators while pacing back and forth. Standing near her were Ratchet and Balm and they looked anxious as well. The only bot from the space bridge team that I recognized was the black femme with brown markings called Elbra. She was Remcy's carrier and we had all met her on a number of occasions. Elbra looked like she was calming down Pandimala while the rest of the space bridge operators stayed back out of fear of the angry triple changer in front of them.

As I transformed, I heard Pandimala speak to Elbra. "My friend…no…my family could be in danger on the other side of that bridge and I am volunteering to go on a rescue mission and yet no bot will let me do it!?"

Elbra took Pandimala's anger in stride before saying, "Pandimala, if it was anybot else who can fight except you, I would have already opened the space bridge to Parthus and let the three of you through. But, the council and Ultra Magnus have made it quite clear to all of us space bridge operators that you are not allowed off-planet unless you have Ultra Magnus with you."

"That's slag!" Pandimala huffed while taking a step back. While Pandimala was pretty angry, she also knew that she was a lot stronger physically than most Autobots. She knew that she could hurt them if she lashed out at them in anger.

Thankfully for my friends, I could offer a reprieve. "Pandimala take a step back. While you can't leave Cybertron, that doesn't apply to me." I then turned to Elbra. "Open the space bridge and let Ratchet, Balm, and me through. I understand that the odds of a recovery bridge being sent is slim to none. We'll find our own way back home. But, like Pandimala hinted at, we don't stand by when our family is in trouble. I can fight well enough to get to Zarron while Ratchet and Balm patch up some of our bots to help form a defensive line." I then took a step closer to Elbra, though not in a threatening way. "We can do this."

Elbra and I held optic contact for a few clicks before she sighed and nodded. "Remcy picked some amazing friends to call family. We will open the bridge for you."

Ratchet, at that, raised an optic ridge. "And what will you do when the Council finds out you opened an un-authorized space bridge."

In return, Elbra smirked. "Oh, I'll tell them exactly what I think if they are upset with me. But, for now, let's get you bots thorugh." She then turned and motioned to the bots around her to open the bridge.

Once the space bridge was open, the three of us wasted no time in running through. My family was in trouble and I was not going to let _anything_ stand in my way of saving him.

Anything.

 **Hinge's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

While I ran next to the four other mechs who, with me, made up the Guardians, I found my processor going back to Tana. I had first seen her a stellar ago when she was at Slapjack's with her friends. They were coming in to clean up the bar after a fight they had the previous solar. I had recognized her friends through various reports that I had kept up with through my contacts on Cybertron, but I had not known who she was. So, having been curious about her, I had started my stellar-long research endeavor to find out what I could about her.

Firstly, I had talked with Breaker, a mech who I had wanted to be a Guardian but had to decline me due to other goals he had. To my surprise, he did know of Tana. Said that he had been one of her escorts to boot camp and she had said that it was one of her dreams to be a member of the Guardians one solar. It wasn't that surprising, since many bots wanted to be a part of us, but I needed more information than he had. So, he had suggested talking to the medic and scout from his old team; Joint and Blockade.

So, I had found them and they showed me footage that they had saved from what Pandimala was like when she was growing up. Of course, I hadn't told them that I was looking into Tana. I had presented my case as being curious about Pandimala since she was currently the only bot with a flying alt mode on the Autobot side. The film that I watched showed me that Tana had been a femme who was very kind and caring when she was younger.

But, I still needed more information. So, I had asked Joint and Blockade if she had any special training before she went to boot camp. They confirmed that they had asked a mech called Kradox to train her. He…was a little harder for me to find. Turned out that, after training Tana, Kradox moved to Vos and owned a small one-story home with a good amount of land.

He had the information that I needed on Tana. While the mech had stopped being her trainer before she went to the academy, Kradox had kept his optic on her and had recordings of her training in the simulations at the Academy along with his own personal memories in training her. She was so different than most applicants that I ran across and, the funny thing was, she didn't even apply with us. In my opinion, that was another positive for her. She wanted to be recognized for working hard instead of sending in a portfolio of herself.

However, now I was concerned. I had just been about to challenge her when the triple changer, Pandimala, had suddenly flown over-helm at an amazing speed. Honestly, the sound of her breaking the sound barrier had caused me to have war-time reactions and I had immediately ducked down. But, Tana had immediately looked toward the sky and I could tell that she was receiving a message from somebot. If I had to guess, I was betting it was from Pandimala.

She had then apologized and asked for a storm-check on our fight. I was hoping that it was going to be a pretty impressive fight but it seemed like I was not going to be able to find out. At least, not until later. Of course, I was slightly glad that she had left in the hurry that she had. Almost as soon as she had disappeared, Chem had contacted me. He said that the delegation that was currently at Parthus had come under a large scale Decepticon attack. Relief had been sent but, from what I knew of travel in those parts, the relief wouldn't arrive in time unless it came through the bridge. So, reinforcements from Cybertron would be best.

However, the problem with that is the Council. They were going to deliberate for at least thirty clicks, if not more, before they got their helms out of their afts and allowed us to send reinforcements in. By that point, who knew how many bots would be offlined due to their hesitation. It was a flaw in Autobot society and, once this war was officially over, I hoped that we would work toward fixing it. Until then, though, we had to suffer through this.

…Well, not so much trouble for myself and my Guardians. Since we were set up as a group of soldiers outside of the chain of command, then we could decide where we were sent into battle. We were not counted into the number of troops that the Council had at their disposal so we were allowed to go on these riskier missions.

"And you said that you were just about to test her when the triple changer, Pandimala, flew over-helm like a flying scraplet was on her aft. Where do you think she was off to?" Hindsight asked as we all made our way forward.

Shaking my helm, I answered him. "I'm not sure Hindsight, but she was in a hurry and I could see that she was worried. Tana, from what I have observed so far, is a very level helmed femme and for her to just run off like that after I challenged her…I think it was something big."

The five of us then rounded another corner and we found ourselves at the Space Bridge Nexus. When we got closer to the main controls, however, I was surprised about what was happening. "Ultra Magnus let me go there!" The triple changer, Pandimala, demanded of the leader…and my friend, as said bot held the femme back.

And speaking of my friend. "Pandimala please calm down. You already said that Tana, Balm, and Ratchet went through the bridge to help out where they could and reports that intelligence have been receiving from the battle say,"

"That Balm and Ratchet are a huge help right now in caring for the wounded as the troops on Parthus." Pandimala interrupted him before she continued. "But no bot has seen Zarron since the attack and no bot has seen Tana since the three of them got planetside!" Ultra Magnus then let the femme go and she paced back and forth. "Now why can't you all get it through your thick helms to allow me through that bridge!?"

This was one of the few times that I heard Ultra Magnus sigh before he pulled Pandimala in front of him. "Now Pandimala, you know that you can't go into the field yet. We all agreed that you would be kept out of the field until you were a Prime and had your own team."

She didn't look happy at that and I figured that this would be a great time for us to make our presence known and offer our assistance with the crisis on Parthus. "Ultra Magnus, my team and I are ready to travel to Parthus."

Both of them turned toward the five of us and I could see that the femme was studying us intently. I had done my research on her and, from the look of realization that came from Pandimala's optics, she must have realized who we were. "Yes Hinge. The space bridge is primed and ready for your use." Ultra Magnus responded to my greeting with relief in his vocals. I guess this femme was giving him a hard time and, from what I had overheard when we arrived, then I could understand the relief.

Blackbit came up next to me and brought out his blade before nodding. "Well, let's get moving. I don't want to waste any more time."

Ultra Magnus nodded and looked toward the space bridge operator, Elbra I was sure her designation was, before she activated the space bridge. My team and I didn't waste any time in running through the bridge toward the other side. What we found, to my surprise, reminded me of battlefields that I encountered during the fighting on Cybertron. There were injured Autobots spread around the space bridge landing point with a struggling line of fighters keeping the Decepticons at bay. Among the injured I could make out two medics. One was the famous medic known as Ratchet. While I had never personally worked with him, I knew that he was almost a legend in his field…a Guardian of the Medical field in a sense.

Near him working just as diligently was the yellow green femme that I knew as one of Tana's friends; Balm. She was assigned to Ratchet as his apprentice and, from what I was seeing of how she was working, Ratchet had trained her well. She didn't flinch as she went to each distorted and damaged chassis of the fallen around her.

But, I couldn't worry about the medics right now. I had to see where Tana and any others who were still unaccounted for where at. Glancing around, I saw Domas Prime ordering troops around him to take defensive positions. He was supposed to be in charge of the negotiations for this mission so he would know if everybot was accounted for.

"Domas Prime!" I yelled to him as I defected the blade of a Decepticon about to impale said Prime from the side.

The beige and black hauling mech looked at me in appreciation. "Hinge! You and your Guardians are a sight for weary optics. The negotiations were a trap. The Decepticons were able to capture the leaders of Parthus before we arrived and we were none-the-wiser until it was too late. We lost three bots in the initial attack and two more during our falling back to the bridge here. I'm not sure about the condition of the ones the medics are looking at but I'm glad they showed up." He then motioned to Ratchet and Balm before continuing. "We lost both of our medics in the initial attack and we were struggling."

The two of us fought back more Decepticons for a click before I continued. "Are there any bots still unaccounted for?"

He nodded and slew his opponent, as I did mine, before he motioned toward the west. "The warrior-in-training who came through the bridge, Tana, has yet to return and the scout that was with us, Zarron, has not been seen since the initial attack against us. Tana went to look for him at the Grand Hall. You can't miss it if you head West from here." Domas told me before standing down. For now, the Decepticons had backed off. But, we couldn't wait for the rest of the troops here to get their intakes back before we looked for Tana and this Zarron.

"Blackbit, Chem; you two stay here and help with the fighting in case another wave of Decepticons decide to attack." Both the black hauling mech and the ruby car mech nodded before I turned to the twins, the blue gray Hindsight and bronze Foresight, and continued. "Hindsight, Foresight; you two come with me and help me find these two missing bots."

Both of them nodded and so the three of us made our way west. What was Tana thinking going into enemy territory alone? Who was this Zarron…My processor started to remember bits of the information that I had gathered on Tana and, now, it was starting to make sense. Everything was making sense. The sudden call she received must have been somebot informing her of the trouble on Parthus. Zarron, one of the mechs that she grew up with, was here on this mission and she must have felt the need to come and save him. Pandimala, obviously not allowed to come, would have been consoled if Tana came to find him personally. Domas probably told Tana that they wouldn't be able to search for Zarron since he was probably deep in enemy territory and, since Domas told me she had gone this way anyways, she didn't listen.

She was showing all the qualities that I looked for in my Guardians. She was loyal, honest, fair, and she would protect those around her no matter what the odds were for her. This was being proven by the fact that she had gone into deep enemy territory with no hope of backup coming or a recovery team. Of course, I had her other qualities examined during this stellar that I had been watching her. I had to make sure that she was a good candidate for being a Guardian. I was not disappointed.

"Hinge," Hindsight suddenly spoke, dragging me out of my thoughts, "enemy signals up ahead as well as two Autobot signals."

"How many enemies?" I immediately asked.

It was Foresight who answered me. "Can't tell. The signals keep moving into each other. But, from what I have seen on the scans, there are at least seven enemy signals. Two hundred yards in closing."

Nodding, I picked up my speed for the next one hundred and eighty yards but, when we were twenty yards from the signals, I slowed down and motioned for the twins to slow as well. We had to know what sort of situation we were diving into. By the looks of it, the two Autobot signals, as well as the Decepticon signals were down in a crater that had been created. Once the three of us were at the edge, we peered down to the situation below.

Five seeker class and two scout class Decepticons were in front of Tana in a crescent shape attack pattern. Tana, herself, had a morning star mod transformed from her right servo and, in her left servo, she held a blaster at the ready. From the offlined Decepticon chassis around her, and the damage that I could see her chassis had already taken, this was not the first attack that she had defended against.

Behind Tana, with his right leg strut trapped by construction beams, was the black motorcycle mech with blue flames that the files identified as Zarron. So, she had found her friend and, like I thought, Tana was defending him against the Decepticons attacking.

"What's the plan boss?" Foresight whispered from my right.

I glanced down at the situation before making a decision. "Hold off on an attack until I say otherwise. I want to see how Tana faces these enemies. We will assist if it looks like she is going to be overwhelmed. Be ready though."

"You got it boss." Hindsight whispered from my left.

My optics then focused back forward as the femme lifted her morning star toward the seven bots. "This is the only chance I will give you to flee here. Leave us be or you will face the consequences." Her light blue optics were cold and hard as she glared at the Decepticons in front of her.

They, of course, simply laughed at her threat before a taller seeker stepped forward. "You Autobots must be worse off mentally than we thought. Seven on one femme. The odds don't look so good for you. Why don't you surrender so we won't have to hurt that pretty frame of yours? I bet we could get top credit for you. A lot of high paying Cybertronians like a femme with a little fight in her." I felt anger pulse through my systems as his smirk seemed to twitch slightly. "Of course, we could just keep you for,"

And that was as far as he got before a blaster round suddenly went through his spark chamber, coming out the other side. "How about not?" Tana growled before standing in the same battle-ready position that I saw her get in against the practice soliform.

The remaining six Decepticons then launched at her and Tana held her ground while waiting for them to attack. While that normally wasn't the best strategy, she had to stay in place due to her injured friend behind her. Staying in place would allow her to retain the information about what was around her and make sure that the enemy didn't maneuver around her and attack Zarron.

She moved with each strike that was made against her and, except from the occacionaly glance from an enemy dagger now and then, Tana was holding her own against the six of them. But, as the clicks dragged on, I could tell that exhaustion was finally taking its toll on the femme, who was now down to five on one. The nano that the five backed off to regroup, I launched forward. "Now!" I yelled as I charged into the fight.

Out of the corner of my optic, I saw Tana, flinch slightly in surprise at our presence here. It just confirmed to me that she had not been expecting any sort of backup to come and aid her in her fight and she had been willing to take on these bots alone. However, my focus on Tana was lost as I engaged two of the four seeker class Decepticons left while the twins took on another of the seeker class and the scout model that was still left.

The last seeker class Decepticon left had gone for Tana and I could tell, during pauses in my fight, that she was used to fighting against flyers. It seemed like a positive for having grown up with the triple changer. As I defeated the first of the seekers that I was fighting, I noticed that Tana had defeated her own opponent. It didn't take me long to take out this second seeker and, once I did, I straightened and saw that I was the last one done. It was a slight blow to my ego but one that I could live with.

"Hang on Zar." I heard Tana's voice suddenly say. When I glanced at Tana, I saw that she was trying to lift the beams that were trapping her friend. I could tell that she wasn't going to move it much on her own and so I motioned to the twins and they nodded. So, we ran over to the femme, the twins on her left and myself on her right, before we started to help her lift. Tana, glanced toward all of us in quick surprise before she nodded and helped to lift the beams.

With a bit of a struggle, we were able to lift the beams up enough for Zarron to crawl out from underneath them. Once I saw that he was clear, I made sure that the others knew as well. "Clear!" The four of us then let the beams go so that they dropped with a resounding thud.

Tana then moved and helped support Zarron on her right side. Once they were both stable, the twins and I moved in front of them. "Thank you. I'm not sure what I would have done if you hadn't have showed up." Tana thanked us with a nod of her helm.

Hindsight let out a laugh and shook his helm. "I don't know about these two, femme, but from what I saw you were doing pretty good on your own."

She, to my surprise, looked slightly embarrassed. "I don't know about that. When I got to that crater, the first set of Decepticons were camped there and Zarron was their prisoner. I was only able to beat all of them because I got the drop on them. If you three hadn't shown up then I'm not sure if I would have come out of that online." Tana then held out her servo toward us. "The designation is Tana and this here is Zarron."

The three of us shook both of their servos before the five of us started to walk. While we walked back toward the bridge, I decided to drop the bomb on her as to just who we were. "I am Hinge, the blue gray mech is Hindsight and the bronze is Foresight."

Out of the corner of my optic I saw Tana stumble slightly. Her friend helm slapped her for that. "Sheesh Tana, as graceful as ever."

Tana sent him a light glare, the kind friends would pass with each other, before she responded to me. "Your designations are Hinge, Foresight, and Hindsight? That…that means that you three are…Guardians!"

I nodded at her statement before saying, "Yes, and I was hoping to test you when you went tearing away from the training grounds like you did. Guess this is kind of an emergency though so I'll let it slide. Plus, since you did so well in fighting those Decepticons, then I will skip your battle test."

To my surprise, she seemed confused by what I was saying, "What do you mean? What sort of test where you going to give me?"

A smirk briefly flashed across my faceplate before I answered that. "Well, to be a Guardian of course. What do you say?"

I felt worried when she didn't grow excited like I thought she would. Now that I looked at her from the corner of my optic, I saw that both she and Zarron looked tense…battle tense. But, she did answer me. "Hinge, there would be nothing I would like more. But…Hindsight, can you do me a favor?" She asked that very deliberately.

Hindsight didn't seem to catch her deliberate speech pattern as he nodded and answered normally. "Sure what is it?"

Tana paused for a few more nano-clicks before she suddenly yelled, "Catch!" before she threw Zarron at Hindsight and screeched to a halt while starting to turn.

What was going on!? I tensed and, it was only in that nano that I realized that somebot had been following behind us with a light diffraction mod that gave him cloaking abilities. This wasn't good! Tana wouldn't be able to take her blaster out in time to stop him and none of us would be able to stop this bot before they severely injured Tana, who was closest to the back now. "Tana m…!" I started to yell at her before a transformation sequence interrupted me.

Tana swung her left servo behind her and, right when she began her swing, it transformed, to my surprise, into a flail! Now that I thought about it, I did remember her file saying that she had a flail mod. Since she didn't use it in the fight in the crater I forgot that she had one. The sound of metal impacting metal caused me to focus and I saw her flail contact with the area behind her and, a nano later, a midnight blue mech with faded blue and azure markings appeared. Tana's flail knocked him back and, before he could recover and turn invisible again, Tana had taken out her blaster and, with a sure shot, she shot him in the helm. He was offline before he hit the ground.

Turning back to the four of us, she smiled before motioning to Zarron. "Sorry for not giving a better warning but I don't have your comm numbers and Zarron noticed a light sound of pedes that didn't match any of our gaits. So, he told me and I had to make sure he was safe and I didn't want to spook him."

"Idiot. You didn't have to throw me." Zarron grumbled as he tried to get comfortable in Hindsight's grip.

Tana, in turn, frowned at him before she shook her helm and turned toward me. I was sure I felt whiplash when she suddenly beamed a wide smile as we continued to walk to the space bridge. "I can't believe I'm a Guardian!" Her yell of excitement was what I had been looking for earlier and here it was. I had been worried when I hadn't seen it. From the investigating I had done on her, I saw that she spoke her mind and, when she was excited, she would be excited. But, now that it was out, she was bouncing around like she had just won at the gambling house.

Her friend, Zarron, seemed like he knew how to calm her down. "Will you stop it? You're looking ridiculous Tan. I mean, come on. At least pretend to act your age."

Tana frowned at that for a second before she smirked. "Fine Zar. I guess we should get you back through the bridge as quickly as possible. Last I saw, Pandimala was on the other side and she was very anxious."

For a nano, it looked like the coloring of Zarron's chassis faded slightly and his optics widened quite a bit. "Oh slag. Um…you all wouldn't mind taking me to Iacon Central would you?"

Before we could even wonder if there was anything to worry about, Tana let out a laugh. "Sorry Zar. Balm and Ratchet are here as well and they will look at your leg strut there are the Nexus once we get through. 'Mala will be there to give _you_ the riot act for a change." Tana then turned to me. "We think it has something to do with her programing but Pandimala gets really protective of all of us that she considers family. So, she'll give Zarron here a lecture for making her worry."

"And when was the last time _you_ checked in with her since coming here Tana?" Zarron shot back at her.

As we finally came in sight of the battle line of Autobots, and I could see Blackbit and Chem standing next to Domas Prime, Tana let out a cry at that statement and I just laughed. Tana was going to be an excellent addition to the Guardians. She would bring much to the group that we didn't have and I had a feeling that, along with her friends, Tana was going to bring so much change to Cybertron.

Tana, member of the Guardians, how far will you go?

* * *

 **Pandimala: *taps pede* Okay Authoress...where is it?**

 **Authoress: *curious* Where is what?**

 **Pandimala: *motions to shelf* Where is the high grade? I had some placed up there in case of emergencies but now it's gone.**

 **Authoress: *gives disbelieving look* And do you think that I am acting drunk enough to have drank it?**

 **Pandimala: *pauses**sighs* I guess you are right. I'll go and ask Tana if she has seen it. *walks out***

 **Authoress: *smirks* *pulls out high grade* Of course I might not have drank it yet. *puts cube to lips***

* * *

 **AN: And here is Tana's chapter! This was so much fun to do and I loved changing it around a bit. So, as can be told, this story will not match up with Guardians, the Beginning. That was for Journey of a Strange femme. Now I get to play with everything and make you all wonder at just what else I am going to be changing! *evil laugh* *hides horns* Anyways, next chapter is going to be Balm and we are going to have an interesting time! I wonder if you all can guess what happens. Reading the original may or may not help...*dark smirk* I haven't decided yet. Anyways, after that we will get to Pandimala and the beginning of our odyssey for our strange triple changer. I plan many changes in the future that should give you all many twits and turns (and some very unexpected surprises).**

 **Well, that's all I have for now. Please leave a review, even to say hi, and I'll get back to you (if you leave a guest review I'll say something at the beginning of the next chapter). Until next we meet though, TTYL! *bobs head while dancing to the music***


	10. Medical Examinations

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.**

* * *

 **Pandimala: *yells* Emergency situation! Everybot on deck!**

 ***All friends run in***

 **Balm: What's wrong Pandimala?**

 **Pandimala: *motions to monitors* Authoress got into the** **high grade!**

 **Remcy: *sighs* This isn't going to end well.**

* * *

Ch. 9: Medical Examinations

 **Balm's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I sighed as I washed up in the wash racks. This was the solar. It was the solar of my medical examination work test. I had passed the written test easily last week, but this was what I was really worried about. To pass this test, I had to actually work on an injured bot. Who knew what bot that could be? But, I was confident in my abilities to fix whatever problem that I was presented with. However, I was nervous about how I would be graded. Ratchet had taught me many techniques, and some of those techniques were not very well looked upon by other bots, no matter how well it healed the bot.

So, I had just finished my final practice run on sealing up some lines on the practice drone and, in my opinion, I patched them up very well. Back when I had first become Ratchet's apprentice, I would not have been able to work on bots anywhere near this well. I had been so nervous the first few times that I worked on bots, after the incident with Pandimala, that I was sure that Ratchet would change his mind in having me as his apprentice.

But, he had continued as my teacher and I had learned a lot with him. Thirty stellar cycles have passed since that solar and, looking back, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the universe. I have made more friends than I could ever want, learned so much knowledge, and gained invaluable experience that have all gathered for this solar. I knew that I would not let my teacher down, no matter what.

Once I finished washing up, I quickly dried off before walking out to the doors. This solar, before my exam, I was supposed to meet with other medics in training who would be taking their final as well. It was a session to help us get to know our future work partners. Some of them had met before. That I knew. Ratchet told me how there were eight of us who were going to be taking our final exams this solar. Out of those eight, I was among the three femmes. Out of the eight bots, three of them had trained together as a group with their masters. I had nothing against that, but I had to wonder if that allowed the students to learn everything that they might need if they were off on their own. I wasn't sure but the tests this solar should show that.

Walking out of Ratchet's, I turned down the streets of Iacon and made my way toward Radar's Sturdy Blade, a high-end worker's restaurant not far from Guardian Headquarters. Originally, we were supposed to meet at The Charming Predacon, a new restaurant that most bots could afford, but one of the teachers, I think his designation was Hazard, said that his apprentice could not be seen at such a new and unsociable place. Ratchet got annoyed with that but didn't argue the change in venue for us…since the new choice was now Radar's.

Thanks to Tana, who was by now a very established member of the Guardians, I had met Radar personally and I counted him as a friend. He was able to get our group of eight in one of is VIB rooms and I was relieved. I wasn't sure how this meeting of the apprentices was going to go. I had never met any of the other apprentices, Ratchet telling me that he didn't want my teaching influenced by what other bots thought.

I agreed with that. I had to have my own opinion formed on a subject, especially, a topic that was debatable, before I met with others. I didn't just want to take their opinion as my own. Ratchet wouldn't even tell me his opinion on certain subjects until I had done research and formed my own opinion on the matter. One of those subjects, which was always a hot topic of debate when brought up, was the use of medic-assisted self-offlining. It wasn't an illegal practice but it was looked down upon by most and I knew how I stood on that subject. That would not be changed for anybot. But, until that subject came up, I would avoid it.

One thing that Ratchet did suggest for this solar was to not bring up controversial topics. It would just cause tension at this meeting, a meeting where we were to meet our potential future coworkers. Having that sort of bad air around us would not be very smart to start our potential careers. So, I just had to smile and try to hold conversations.

But, that in itself was going to be difficult. While I was not nearly as nervous as I used to be, I still had problems getting to know new bots. At one of the medical conferences I went to with Ratchet, I about had a spark attack when a bunch of new bots came up to me and started asking questions rapid-fire. But, thankfully, Ratchet helped me get through that.

However, he was not going to be here this solar. No, this was just going to be me facing the seven other medical apprentices. It was nerve-wracking, but I knew that I would be alright. I was going to be helped by the fact that we were going to be at Radar's…a familiar place.

It wasn't much longer before I arrived at Radar's. He seemed to have a full house this morning. Guess it was a good thing that he was able to squeeze us in when he did. Otherwise, we would have had to go to Maccadams instead and, while I didn't know what my fellow apprentices felt about the place, I didn't want to go in there ever again. I had to go there once to find a patient that was late for one of his physicals with Ratchet and things went downhill very fast.

"Balm!" I heard my name called as I entered Radar's. Turning, I saw the head bot himself walking toward me. "I'm guessing you're here for the medic apprentice meet and greet?"

Nodding, I motioned toward his VIB area. "Yeah Radar, I am. Thanks so much for fitting us in this solar."

The light blue car mech laughed at that. "It's no problem Balm. When I heard that you were in this class, I wanted to. A friend of Tana's and the Guardians always has a seat at my restaurant."

Slightly embarrassed, I chuckled and put a servo behind my helm. "Thanks Radar." I then motioned down the hall. "As much fun as this is though, I should go and meet the other apprentices. Should make this solar fun."

Radar nodded at my sarcasm…something I picked up from Vox. "Yes, and they seem like a very strange group. Try to straighten some of them up will you Balm? Some need to get the pipes out of their afts." Great, that wasn't helping my confidence for this meet and greet. "Don't worry though Balm, I have your usual on hold so once you get in there it will be made for you. Also, first drink's on the house."

He didn't have to do that! "Radar you don't,"

"It's fine Balm." Radar interrupted me. "Trust me this is fine. Just don't be telling the other medics in there or I'll have a big problem."

Since I knew that Radar was not the type to give in by this point, I let out a sigh. "Fine. But I will pay you back for this somehow."

The two of us arrived at the door to the VIB room that us apprentices would be using before he let out a laugh. "Sure you will. I have to go and make the rounds at the other tables and rooms. That lobbing tournament that's happening in two solars is causing visitors to come to Cybertron like it's going out of style."

Ah, so that's why it was so busy.

Once Radar walked off, I turned to the door and let out a vent before opening it. Inside, I saw seven other medic apprentices sitting around a round table. Since I saw an open seat near the door, I took it before really looking at the bots around me.

…Or trying to before the mech on my left spoke. "Hey, you're the last apprentice right?" He talked faster than most bots but he seemed like he was nice. His plating was mainly red and brown with light cyan highlighting, his optics were light blue, his faceplate gray, and he looked like he was about my height. For his alt mode, he looked like a half-track like vehicle. Would be good for going to organic worlds…if he had to.

Nodding to him, I motioned to myself. "Y…yes. My designation is B…Balm." I then held my servo out toward him.

He smiled and took my servo in his. "That's cool! The designation's Crossblaze. Nice to meet you Balm." He then motioned to my other side. "That's my friend Honeywhip."

I looked on my other side and saw the mech who was probably slightly taller than I was. He had light yellow and dark gold plating with gold highlighting. His faceplate was light gray and he had dark blue optics. The mech didn't waste time, at his name being mentioned, in turning to us. "So, you're the mystery apprentice no bot has met yet. As my friend Crossblaze said, my designation is Honeywhip. I've been apprenticed to Knockout for the past thirty-three stellar cycles."

"And I've been apprenticed to Droplock for the past thirty-eight stellar cycles." Crossblaze added onto his introduction.

Since they had given me introductions, I figured I should give them mine again, since Honeywhip wasn't a part of our conversation when I introduced myself to Crossblaze. "And as I t…told Crossblaze. M…my designation is Balm and I've been ap…prenticed to Ratchet for thirty stellar cycles."

"So, you're that old rust-bucket's new apprentice. Don't look like much."

A defensive growl slipped my throat at the insult to my teacher and I turned to see the femme who spoke. She was colored green and orange with purple accents, her faceplate was silver, and her optics were dark blue and narrowed at me. She was just shorter than I was but she looked confident.

"And who are you?" Honeywhip asked as he glared at her.

She took a glance at Honeywhip out of the corner of her optic before returning her sights on me. "I guess you will need to know it for the future. My designation is Artzin. I have been trained these forty stellar cycles by the femme medic Hera."

"Who?" Crossblaze asked her in annoyance. I wasn't liking her and knew she was the kind of femme that my friends wouldn't like either. Pandimala would have already put her a few steps down from her high pedestal.

I could see that Artzin was not happy about us not knowing who her teacher was. "Look here, Hera is one of the top medics at Iacon Central! You should show more," She reached for Crossblaze and started to pull him up to her.

My chassis reacted without a thought as I soon felt my right servo transforming into its buzz-saw mod. In an instant, I was holding it, unmoving, against her neck cables closely. "My teacher and I can handle being talked down by idiots like you, but don't attack others. We are medics, even if we are in training, and that means we are supposed to help the bots around us, _not_ hurt them." I then removed the saw from her neck cables before transforming it back into a normal servo. "Now please, let's enjoy this morning. We have our tests coming up and I don't want this solar to be spoiled by unnecessary violence."

Artzin glared at me. "When my teacher hears about this you'll be sorry!" It was supposed to sound like a threat but, honestly, I wasn't worried.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." I started off with a sigh. "But, after this solar, I hope that I will never have to use my teacher's designation to get what I want. They are here to teach us but, after this solar, we will hopefully become full medics. I don't want to always be known as Ratchet's apprentice. While that is an honor, I want to evolve as a medic to the point where bots will be wondering what young bot will be lucky enough to be my apprentice." I then sat down.

The room stayed quiet for a few clicks before every other bot went back to their conversations…though I noticed some were glancing at me every so often. I didn't like the attention and I hadn't meant to make a scene. I just didn't want Artzin to get away with going after Crossblaze. "Balm…are you alright?" Crossblaze asked me as he and Honeywhip seemed to snap out of their own shock.

I felt a blush on my cheek-plates before I nodded. "Y…yeah I'm fine. Just don't l…like bots messing with other b…bots like that."

Honeywhip looked at me confused. "Don't take offense to this Balm, but you don't seem the type of bot to stand up like that. You seem really nervous about talking period."

He had a point but I knew how to answer him. "I get nervous around new bots and I talk with a st…stutter at times. But I am confident about defending other b…bots. I learned that f…from my friends in boot camp." I then looked at them curiously. "Who did you b…bots go to bootcamp with?" I was curious to see if I would know any of the bots since both Honeywhip and Crossblaze were older than me.

Honeywhip and Crossblaze smiled at that before Honeywhip said, "Well, we were actually together in boot camp along with a mech called Dunce, a mech called Stix, that mech over there called Comet," He motioned to one of the mechs in a group of three mechs. I couldn't tell which one he was motioning to and I didn't want to interrupt. "a femme called Chorale, and a mech called Breakline." Honeywhip then paused and smiled. "Actually, Breakline is Knockout's creation."

I knew by now that, when most Cybertronians said a bot was somebot else's creation, they meant that the sire and/or carrier figure adopted them straight from the well. I was an oddity in actually having been created by a sire and carrier through a bond. But still, even being a creation like the normal Cybertronian sense was something amazing. "Wow, so is that how you got noticed to be a medic?"

Honeywhip nodded. "Yeah, and Stix is Droplock's creation and that is how Crossblaze was connected with his teacher." He then glanced at me before asking, "Balm, there have been many of us who have been curious about something. But, it might be personal. Would you mind answering?"

While I doubted at this point that Honeywhip was trying to trap me, I had to be careful anyways. "It depends on the question."

Crossblaze laughed at that before taking over. "I think I know what Honeywhip wants to ask." He then grew serious. "For the longest time, it was thought that Ratchet would never take another apprentice after Joint, given his age and how he acts around most bots. That's what our teachers told us anyways. What we want to know is how you got Ratchet to accept you as his apprentice?"

That was it? It wasn't really personal to me and 'Mala already gave me her permission to tell the story if it came up…like now. "It's n…not that I asked him. Ratchet…he asked me."

The two mechs next to me looked shocked at that before Crossblaze asked, "Wait…he _asked_ you?"

Laughing, I nodded before continuing. "Yeah. It was the first solar of boot c…camp. Before, I had done a good deal of studying to be a medic so I knew I wanted to b…be one. Well, it was put to the test after our first training exercise. The blasters had started firing real rounds and had really i…injured my fellow boot camp cadet. When I c…called the emergency band, the bots didn't believe me on the other side. But, Ratchet h…heard and he came to help. We needed to take my friend to his med bay and R…Ratchet asked me to assist him since he knew th…that I could work with and take the correct scans of the f…frame in question."

That caused looks of confusion to show on both of the mechs' faceplates before Honeywhip asked, "What do you mean? What kind of frame did you work with?"

I felt a blush come on my faceplate at his question. It wasn't the question itself that caused me to blush, but whenever I was asked that at the medical conferences Ratchet took me to, and I answered it, bots always looked at me in awe. It was kinda embarrassing having all that attention. "W…well," I started, "it was a triple changer frame."

The whole room got quiet at that and I glanced around to realize that everybot was paying attention to my story. Talk about embarrassing! A mech colored teal and tan with olive colored markings with a white faceplate and medium blue optics finally spoke. "Wait…you went to boot camp with Pandimala? The War Trap?"

I couldn't stop the chuckle from coming out of my vocals at Pandimala's nickname. It was a very deserved nickname but not the most flattering. She seemed to attract dangerous trouble no matter what group she was with. Five solars ago she had to go to Iacon Central to get shrapnel removed from an explosion from a 'dud' that wasn't really a dud.

But, back to the mech's question. "Yeah, 'Mala has always b…been a trouble magnet. But, she's very loyal and kind at sp…spark." I answered that seemingly well.

While the other four bots went back to their own discussion, the mech who asked me that pulled his chair over and sat by me and Crossblaze. "The designation's Comet, trained by the medic Fungus for thirty-four stellars."

"Balm, trained by the m…medic Ratchet for thirty stellars." I introduced myself to Comet.

The others must have introduced themselves to Comet and, since they seemed to be happy he was over here, then he must be an okay bot. "Since you were in the boot camp with Pandimala, that means that you were also with Remcy, Tana, Vox, Zarron, Optimus Minor, Elita-One Minor, and Sentinel Minor right?" Crossblaze asked.

I nodded at that and smiled. "That's right."

All three mechs looked surprised at that. "Frag. No wonder Ratchet got you when he did." Crossblaze started. "Almost everybot in that boot camp group has become well-known." He then put his servo on my shoulder. "I'm going to be sticking to you like a weld Balm. I bet you are going to go far."

My faceplate was burning with a blush and I felt awkward. "W…well thanks C…Crossblaze."

Honeywhip then motioned me onward with his servo. "So, how did Ratchet actually ask you to be his apprentice?"

"Wait, Ratchet _asked_ her?" Comet asked in surprise.

"We already went over that Comet." Crossblaze answered him. "It's not our fault you went to talk to those idiots. You know they are pain in the afts." He then turned back to me. "So, continue please?"

I nodded and did that. "Well, after we worked together to fix up 'Mala, I was covered in energon so Ratchet l…let me use the wash rack that attached to his med-bay to get c…cleaned up. Once I was done, I came out and he asked me what I w…wanted to be when I got older. I told him I wanted to be a medic ever since I could remember and he then asked if I wanted to be his apprentice."

"What was it like," Comet started to ask me.

But, an internal alarm going off in my helm had me glancing at it and I about had a spark attack. There was only thirty clicks until the exams started! "W…we need to leave bots! We have thirty clicks until t…the exams start!" That got everybot moving and soon, they were all piling out behind me.

 **Knockout's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I studied the yellow green femme curiously from the viewing area. My apprentice, Honeywhip, had already passed his final exam to be a medic. He had to re-attach a right servo that had been detached by a very angry femme in a bar. Not the normal exam but it was simple enough that he was able to pass it. Of course, I had trained the mech and I expected perfection out of the bots I trained.

But, this femme was taking on a very difficult task. Originally, this Balm was just supposed to replace a pede on a bot who had lost his doing dock work. But, before that bot could get in, emergency medics had brought in the triple changer; Pandimala. She had a blaster shot that had hit the side of her helm and the femme had been twitching all over the gurney.

Joint, who I had gone to boot camp with, had immediately wanted to go and take over the operation. Processor operations like the one that Balm was currently performing were no small task and usually was best for experienced medics to handle. However, Ratchet had stopped Joint from going down there and had said that his apprentice could handle this. He had trained her to handle these situations. I was skeptical but knew to keep an open processor. Ratchet might be old, but he knew how to train a good medic and he would not risk a bot's spark just to try and prove that his apprentice was the top of the crop this testing period.

The medics who did the best on their exams each stellar were asked to do high-standing occupations like working as personal medics to politicians. The teachers of those medics would receive high standings in their fields as well. But, Ratchet wasn't that kind of mech. He shunned every attempt to be put on a pedestal and just wanted to be the best medic to help bots. And, in Joint, that had been seen. She didn't strive for a high position but, instead, joined a team and went to the front lines; a very dangerous place for bots.

Now, we were watching as Balm worked on Pandimala. Her moves were so precise that I felt like I was watching Ratchet down there. I had been privy to watch a few of the old bot's operations and, like Ratchet, Balm was moving with a fluidity that almost defied what should be possible. As Balm worked, I realized that she had taken to Ratchet's training even better than Joint had. If she kept this up, I had no doubt that the femme could go far.

When Honeywhip had finished his exam and we were waiting for his final score, I had asked him how the apprentice meet and greet went. I knew that he went to boot camp with two of the mechs that were there; Crossblaze and Comet. However, he said that they had met the mysterious apprentice of Ratchet's; a femme called Balm. Her own resume was, from what Honeywhip could find out, already filling out well.

She had connections to the three major intelligence gathering agencies on Cybertron: The CIA in the form of Remcy, the CBI in the form of Vox, and the Scouting Academy in the form of Zarron. Also, she had connections to the only triple changer on the Autobot side; Pandimala. Finally, she had connections to Tana; the newest Guardian…something that hasn't happened in hundreds of stellar cycles. A new Guardian was something to be marveled at and, having a connection to one was a very good advantage to have.

And now, I had a loose connection to all of these bots through Honeywhip, who now had a connection with Balm. While I wasn't one to abuse my connections, I did like having them to request help from when needed. While Honeywhip had been offered to become the assistant to Alpha Trion's personal medic, Chainflow, I knew that Honeywhip would keep tabs on me. It was what I trained him to do. Never let a possibly good connection go to waste. Balm was a fragging excellent connection to have and the mech would have scrap-for-processor to waste it.

I mean, I had a connection with Ratchet through Joint and I did not waste that at all. It was how I got away with my little secret hobby; racing. It was an addictive hobby and, thanks to Ratchet's and Joint's influence, I was able to keep doing it and keep my license.

"That's a relief." Joint's voice suddenly broke through my thoughts.

Glancing down, I saw that Balm was just finishing up her check-up scans on Pandimala's processor and, from the copies we were all seeing, the scans showed that the operation was a complete success. "Wow Ratchet, looks like you finally got it right." I commented as a jab to both Ratchet and Joint.

They both turned to me with a glare and, while Ratchet didn't fall for my bait, Joint wasn't that smart. "What the frag do you mean by that? I am an awesome medic!"

I held up my servos in defense before continuing. "I am not doubting your skills Joint. But, let me ask you this; could _you_ have done that kind of operation on your exam solar?"

She went to answer but, before any sound came out, she paused. Yeah, that was what I thought. While I knew that Joint was a good medic…great even, that femme Balm had absorbed Ratchet's teachings and seemed to be building on them. She was going to evolve into a spectacular medic that I knew I needed to keep my optics on.

"So, how did she do?" Ratchet asked the judges, who were in there with us.

Wheeljack was the first judge to answer. "My vote is that she passed, with the highest marks!"

Then, it was Brigadier, a war medic who was pretty well known off-world and on-world alike. Not as much as Ratchet but he was known. "I am very impressed with this femme's performance. She was able to stay calm under pressure while working on a serious injury on her friend. I vote that she passes as well."

Now, it was time for the final judge to put in his vote. Of course, with no emotional core, Perceptor was not going to be an easy judge to impress. "I see no flaws in her exam. The subject, Pandimala, has been healed and is on the way to a speedy recovery. The apprentice in question followed acceptable medical procedures and kept her composure in a stressful environment." He then paused. "My vote is that she passes as well."

Ratchet didn't waste any time in leaving the room to inform his apprentice.

Well, that was all three judges passing her. While my Honeywhip had also passed by all three judges, both Brigadier and Perceptor had found flaws in his exam that were acceptable to make. Their judgement of the femme here, though, reinforced my idea that this femme was going to be very important to Cybertron one solar. That was something that I knew.

Looking at the time, I realized that I had to hurry if I was to make my dinner appointment with Councilmech Alpha Trion. He had something he wanted to speak to me about and, when he asked for a meeting, it was smart for bots to go. Plus, he was paying so I didn't mind seeing what he wanted. It couldn't be that life-changing.

* * *

 **Zarron: *watches footage* Authoress doesn't seem to be stopping. Is the high grade the only thing she got into?**

 **Pandimala: *shakes helm* I don't think so. All of the rest of my stores of energon are accounted for.**

 **Balm: *optics widen* I think some of my Ultra Grade is gone! I saw the cabinet open this morning but thought it was one of you bots.**

 ***all look at screen showing Authoress running around painted pink and green shouting for the fragging spiders to die***

 **Pandimala: *faceplate palms* This isn't going to be good.**

* * *

 **AN: And here is the next exciting chapter to this story! I wonder if you were expecting events to go like this? The meet and greet was fun and we got to meet a line up of bots who are connected to Balm's field. Speaking of Balm though, I wonder what happened that time at Maccadams? Nothig good I can imagine but that will be a small unimportant detail...right?**

 **I decided to throw a curveball and have it be Knockout's point of view for the test part of the story. He shows us, in a sense, how important connections can be on Cybertron. He seems to be very proud that his apprentice was able to get Balm as a connection. Something to look forward to in the future? Who knows? Knockout will just have to put it to the side for now as he goes to the meeting with Alpha Trion. It can't be that life-changing can it?**

 **Well, this does end the brief interlude of having the dreams of Pandimala's friends shown. Now, we can get back on track with the main part of the story and It is going to be one crazy roller coaster ride after another! Many fun surprises await with each new turn of a chapter!**

 **However, that is all I am going to say on that for now. Please leave a review, even to say hello, and I will greatly appreciate it! I enjoy reading the reviews! It lets me know that you all are alive! Flames will be used to warm up the Authoress' ice-cold hands. It is too cold right now. Anyways, I guess that's all from me. TTYL! *listening to 'You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth' by Meatloaf***


	11. Ghosts of the Past

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox Belongs to a friend.**

* * *

 **Pandimala: Wow, it is a nice feeling to be updated.**

 **Authoress: *looks guilty* Sure. Enjoy that 'Mala. *goes off***

 **Pandimala: *worried* What's wrong with Authoress?**

 **Vox: It can't be good, whatever it is.**

* * *

Ch. 10: Ghosts of the Past

 **Pandimala's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

Flashback:

 _I laughed as the four of us ran around the park. We were playing a round of tag and, while I was the biggest, I was making sure that I wouldn't get caught. Tana and I had a non-tagging agreement between the two of us, so I just had to go after the mechs. I wasn't sure if they had made an agreement between the two of them, but I wanted to avoid being tagged. Zar was it and he was too good at sneaking up on me._

 _It had been two stellars since I had come to live with Joint and Blockade at their house and I was so glad that Ultra Magnus had brought me to them. They took care of me and the other younglings here were so much fun to play with. We played pranks together and they didn't mind that I was the only one out of us four that had wings. They were the best friends that a youngling could have!_

" _Hey you!" I turned and saw that Zarron was on the ground and there were two bigger bots…well, bigger than Zar, standing in front of him. "Why don't you watch were you are going? Little mech like you could get hurt."_

 _That wasn't fair odds! Usually, I would let Vox or Tana step in since they were usually the closest. But, I didn't see either of them in sight and so that meant that I was going to teach these two bots a lesson. So, I walked up to the three of them as Zarron was starting to get up. The bigger bot, who was gold with black markings, pushed Zarron back down before he laughed at Zarron._

 _ **Bam**_ _!_

 _I didn't hold back as I punched the gold bot with black markings in his faceplate. How dare he shove Zarron when the bot was trying to get up. "That wasn't very nice to push Zar! Say your sorry now!" I demanded as I stood between Zarron and the two other bots._

 _The green and silver mech, who was a little smaller than the gold mech, glanced at the gold mech with a nervous look before the gold one spoke. "Who do you think you are weirdo?"_

" _My name is Pandimala and Zarron is my friend. Say you're sorry!" I answered him before I demanded that they say sorry again._

 _Then, the gold mech spoke. "What kind of Autobot are you? Autobots don't have wings. You're a freak!"_

 _In that instant, my spark froze, and I felt a pressure behind my optics. Was I…was I a freak? I knew I was different…did that make me not an Autobot? I then remembered that Ultra Magnus had saved me and had assured me that I could be an Autobot if I fought for it. This was my first battle on that road…and I would_ _not_ _lose! "I'm an Autobot. I fight to protect bots who need help. You're just a bully!" I then felt anger as I clenched both of my servos into fists. "You want to get in my way? Then step right up meanie!"_

 _In response, the green and silver mech looked nervous. "Astrolight…I'm not sure about this." So, the gold bully was called Astrolight. Must mean that he was a housing bot in another house. Well, I didn't care right now. I was hoping that they would stand down. I didn't like fighting, but I would to protect Zarron. Plus, if Tana and Vox got into this, then this could be a playground brawl._

 _Astrolight looked at the green mech before shaking his helm. "If you aren't going to help me Retrostrike then back off. I'm not going to be scared off by some freak femme." So Retrostrike must be a housing bot too. He didn't seem so bad._

 _I let out a growl at that but, before I could launch at the mech like I wanted to, I felt a servo on my shoulder. Looking next to me, I relaxed a little when I saw Vox, who had placed his servo on my shoulder, and Tana. "Pandimala, are you okay?" Vox asked me, looking worried._

 _Nodding, I motioned to Astrolight before saying, "He was picking on Zar. He needs to apologize." I then sent a glare at Astrolight._

 _Tana nodded at that and looked at Astrolight. "So, you going to say sorry or are we going to have to fight?"_

 _Astrolight looked between the four of us and made a weird sound before he said, "Sorry." He then turned and ran._

 _Retrostrike glanced between the four of us before he smiled. "Thanks for that. Astrolight pretty much runs the housing unit we live in with the other two younglings we are with and it was nice to see him stopped. I'm Retrostrike."_

 _Everybot introduced themselves to him before I said, "Why do you not say anything to your housing bots?"_

 _Retrostrike shook his helm. "They are gone at work most of the time. We don't want to bother them when they get back because they are usually really tired." He then glanced to where Astrolight ran off to. "Why did you stand up against Astrolight? He's a big mech…though not as big as you, but he is really scary when he is mad."_

 _I let out a nice laugh before I answered him. "Zar is my family. I'll always fight to protect them…no matter what."_

End of flashback.

I wasn't sure why that memory came to mind as I worked on waxing my wings. It had been hundreds of stellars since that solar but, whenever something big was about to happen, that memory always came back to me. And something big was happening this solar; I was becoming a Prime. Over these past fifty stellars since that first solar of boot camp…this was what I had been trying to reach for. That almost impossible goal and, now, it was so close to my reach. I could practically feel it brushing against my digits. It was so close, and I wanted it so bad!

Finally, I finished applying the wax and looked in the mirror in front of me. Perfect. Not too much to make me gaudy but not too little to be considered a waste of time. Glancing at my internal clock, I saw that I had a little over a cycle until the ceremony began. It wasn't going to be a big ceremony. The Council was to be there with Ultra Magnus, who would be preforming the ceremony. Also, I had invited all the bots who had been in that first boot camp with me. They were a part of the start of my climb to this ceremony…to be a Prime.

Finally, there would be a mech called Switchcreek in attendance. He was an investigator with the ICD and he and I were friends. He has been the lead investigator in my cases of 'live ammo' accidents. Since he was trying to find out why equipment kept malfunctioning around me, then I felt that he should be there for this. It was in part due to his efforts that I was here and not offline.

Well, I had better get to Fortress Maximus. That was where the Council held their meetings and it would now be the pivot point to a new step in my existence. So, I left my apartment and made my way toward the Fortress.

However, I barely moved two steps before I heard my name. "Pandimala! Wait up!"

I turned and saw Slapjack running up to me. What was he doing out here right now? "Slap! What can I do for you?" I asked the barkeeper.

Once he was up to me, the mech smiled, "I was told to let you know that, once this is done, Hinge wants to have a word with you. Something about Tana."

Nodding, I realized what Hinge was wanting to talk about. "Thanks Slap. We still good for tomorrow?"

In return, Slap nodded. "Yes femme. I'll have the entire bar reserved for you and all your friends. It'll be a party to remember." He then turned to leave. However, before he went too far, Slap turned back to me. "Oh, and congrats on the nomination to be a Prime. Once you're a Prime, I'll have to spruce up my bar to match my clientele."

I snapped my helm to look at the mech. "You better not Slap! I'll come after you if you do!"

He laughed at that. "Good. Don't let being a Prime get to your helm. I must get back to the bar now. Good luck!" He then walked off. Once he was out of sight, I continued my trek to Fortress Maximus. However, I now had something to think about.

Hinge was probably wanting to talk to me about my plans with Tana after this solar. I knew that he knew of my plans. I wanted Tana on my team along with Vox, Balm, Zarron, and Remcy. However, Tana was a Guardian and, up till now, none had ever been borrowed out to another team. Hinge had servo-picked every one of the bots that served as a Guardian and I knew that this was asking for a big leap for the Guardians. It was a rule of theirs that they were independent of the chain of command, which allowed the group to take on high risk missions without worry of being stopped by the political side of a fight.

However, I was going to make sure to inform Hinge that Tana would only answer to me when we were away from Cybertron. She would have full reign on how she followed orders and, if Hinge and the Guardians were in dire need of her, she could travel to them by spacebridge. I was hoping that would be enough to convince Hinge to allow her on my team. I needed her on my team. Ever since we were little, that was all we had talked about. The four of us making a team together. Now, of course, that number was six. But Tana had to be on it.

When I arrived at Fortress Maximus, I glanced up at the tall building. A structure that showed strength and elegance at the same time. It was a pinnacle point of Autobot power and it would stand strong if the Autobot cause stayed true. There would be no preventing it.

I wasn't as naïve as I was when I was younger…when I ran to live with the Autobots. Both sides of the war had their reasons for fighting. I just felt that this had gone on long enough…the fighting. And, my loyalties were with the Autobots. I felt that, once my team was allowed out on the battlefield, we could turn the tides and end this war once and for all. Of course, if Remcy's teasing was to be believed at all, I could end the war as soon as I got the opportunity to be alone with Megatron in a locked room.

…Of course, the odds of that happening were about a billion credits to a half. Wasn't putting my hopes and dreams on the side for that wager.

As I walked closer and closer to the doors of the fortress, I felt my wings shiver. Something big was about to happen and I knew that it was going to change everything. My future was waiting for me, right through those doors, and there would be absolutely nothing that was going to stop my future from unfolding. Ultra Magnus used to always tell me something when I was little and felt like my dreams might be out of reach. 'For every one step that you fall back, you need to run and gain four more.'

My stumble back had been suffering through all the injuries and 'live ammo' incidents. They had been pushing against me and causing me that one step back. Now, my ceremony to Prime was just twenty clicks away and that would be my run for four steps of accomplishment. I would be a Prime after this solar.

Those four steps were within my grasp.

 **Vox's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

"Stop fidgeting Remcy."

I turned to Tana as she said that and noticed that the CIA mech was sitting on the edge and was sitting next to Tana. He looked very uncomfortable. Of course, the mech had shined up his armor and all his weapons were deactivated. It was making me uncomfortable as well…the no weapon's part. As a regular member of diplomatic entourages, I was used to keeping my armor shined up.

However, it was common practice that, if a bot was to attend an event like this in Fortress Maximus, that their weapons be disabled. Even Balm's medical equipment was inaccessible for her. Pandimala, who was the bot of honor at this ceremony, had her weapons disabled and, in the case of her swords, sealed with a special adhesive that was removeable by water. There would be no weapons out during this ceremony except for the Magnus Hammer, which Ultra Magnus would use when he initiated Pandimala into the rank of Prime.

Which, if my internal clock was still correct, would be starting in five clicks.

With myself being the first among our group of six to achieve our goals, the rest of us have come leaps and bounds from where we were during boot camp. I was a well respected member of the CBI, Remcy was a top bot in the CIA and was often asked for his advice, Zarron was often a part of off-world negotiation teams as a highly established scout…having graduated from the Academy with his classmates Mirage and Hound with the highest marks that the Academy has seen yet, Tana was the newest member of the Guardians…the most exclusive group of warriors on the Autobot side known for having the most elite members, and Balm, already making strides as a medic with a reputation of handling high stress operation situations with a calm that makes most trained medics look insecure.

Yes, five out of the six of us had accomplished our dreams and were now using them to improve life here on Cybertron. But, we knew that our goals were much higher than that. The five of us were just waiting for the moment that was about to happen. We were waiting for Pandimala to become a Prime. For her to become a leader that we could follow into battle against the Decepticons and make this fragging war end already. We knew that we could be those pillars, and Pandimala was our chosen leader.

Five bots, some of the best in our fields, being led by a sharp processor like Pandimala's…the Decepticons would be in trouble after this.

Back to the present however…

"Tana, you have enough room to scoot over slightly. You do have Remcy pushed against the edge of the seats." I pointed out to the warrior femme.

In return, Tana shuttered her optics briefly and looked next to her before giving Remcy some more room. "Thanks Vox," Remcy started. "I wasn't sure how long my systems could take that sort of pressure."

That caused Tana to have a reaction. "What was that Rem? I don't think I heard you?" Tana's vocals were slightly tightened as she tried to whisper. She wasn't that good at it.

"Will both of you relax?" Zarron requested of the two of them as he sat cross-legged in his seat. He seemed to be the most relaxed out of the five of us.

But, I knew better. He was deep in thought about something and I wanted to know. "So Zarron, what's on your processor?"

Zarron glanced at me for a nano before he shrugged. "I'm not sure honestly. I think I'm just nervous for 'Mala. With everything that goes wrong around her…how do we know this won't be different? And are we prepared to react in case something does go wrong?"

That caused the others to look at Zarron. Honestly, I had been so excited for Pandimala that I didn't think of something going wrong. However, 'Mala did have a habit of causing live ammo to be used whenever she was in an area that was specifically set up to prevent live ammo from being used. Would her luck go so far as to infiltrate the Council room?

Thankfully for my sanity on that question, Balm answered Zarron. "I don't think we have to worry about that bots." Balm never stuttered around the five of us anymore, including Pandimala in that, and I was glad that she had gotten over that hurdle. It let me get to know her that much better after boot camp started. She was a best friend that I was lucky to have.

"Why not Balm?" Tana asked the medic femme. "Pandimala isn't called 'War Trap' for nothing." That was true. Even though I still didn't like the sound of the nickname at times, it did suit Pandimala and Pandimala had told us that she found the nickname funny.

To answer Tana, Balm motioned to the other side of the aisle. "Switchcreek has thoroughly checked this room. There is no way that Pandimala's normal luck can follow her."

Over there on the other side of the aisle sat Optimus Major, Elita-One Major, and a mech called Switchcreek. He was the lead investigator for Pandimala's cases of 'live ammo' incidents and he was a friend to all of us. Optimus and Elita were here because they had been a part of our original boot camp and Pandimala had invited everybot from that camp to come. She had even invited Anvil, Boombox, and Kup. However, all three of them had plans and had declined. That did leave Sentinel Major though. He had accepted Pandimala's invitation to come to this ceremony, but he wasn't here yet. And, if my calculations were correct, then the ceremony was starting,

A door to the side of the Council seats opened and we all stood as the Council filed into the room. Once they were all in, Ultra Magnus came into the room. He was polished up and he held the Magnus Hammer in his right servo. I felt chills go through my system as I saw him stand in front of the Council. Now, we just had to wait for Pandimala to walk through the door.

Not even two nanos after I thought that, the doors behind us opened and I turned and smiled. There she was; Pandimala, the soon-to-be leader of our team. She was cleaned up and polished and that just amplified her stature as she walked down the aisle. Her helm was held high and she looked like nothing could get in her way. This was going to be the leader of our team and, honestly, I couldn't be prouder. It was hard to believe that this femme was, many stellars ago, the same youngling around my own age who had hidden from Tana's greeting hug. That nervous femme seemed like she didn't exist compared to the confident triple changer walking down the aisle. But, I knew better. Without the first…the nervous femme who I had to coax out from under the table to meet us, then this Pandimala would not exist.

I focused on the front as Ultra Magnus began to speak. "This solar is a very special solar. This solar, the Autobot Pandimala Major," I saw Pandimala flinch slightly at that and smirked lightly. She hated actually being called by a title but, to have her own team with bots as good as the rest of us, she had to be a Prime. That meant the title was a part of the package. "will accept the vows that will allow her to become a Prime." He then turned to Pandimala. "For every question that I am going to ask, the response will be; I do." He then began. "Pandimala, do you swear to uphold the title of Autobot everywhere you go and to any bot you will encounter?"

"I do." Pandimala responded reverently.

Ultra Magnus smiled softly at that and I could see the pride in his optics. While we were all close to Ultra Magnus, the rest of us knew that Pandimala and Ultra Magnus always had a special relationship. In a sense, it seemed like Ultra Magnus would always look to Pandimala as his own creation, and Pandimala had once confided in us that she saw Ultra Magnus as a sire-figure. There couldn't be a better moment for the two of them than this one. "Do you accept the mantle of Prime?" Ultra Magnus questioned Pandimala.

In return, Pandimala nodded. "I do."

Ultra Magnus continued. "And all of its challenges and responsibilities?"

"I do." She again responded.

"Do you swear to follow the command of the Council and the Magnus if the command is within the beliefs of the Autobots?" That was an important question for Ultra Magnus to ask. This would be Pandimala placing herself fully at the service of the Autobot leadership and she would be prepared to fight for them no matter the odds as long as it stayed within the beliefs of the Autobots.

Of course, Pandimala didn't hesitate. "I do." Pandimala was one of the most loyal Autobots that I had ever met. She was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for the Autobot cause, and she was as unwavering a bot as I had ever met.

Ultra Magnus smiled at her direct answer before he went to continue. "And do you,"

"Wait!" Everybot flinched at the sound of Sentinel's vocals and I turned to see that he was at the door that the Council and Ultra Magnus had entered through, looking like he had just ran across the planet to get here. Why was he stopping, "She doesn't deserve to be Prime!" _What_ did that idiot just say? Pandimala didn't deserve to be a Prime? She would give her very spark for the Autobot cause and yet he was saying that she didn't deserve to be a Prime? I noticed a data pad in his servos and doubted that it held some secret that would stop her from being a Prime.

"What evidence can you provide to back up your claim against Pandimala?" Ultra Magnus asked. I had expected him to be almost annoyed with Sentinel's interruption. However, with my training, I had seen a quick flash of worry go across Ultra Magnus' optics. _Was_ there something in Pandimala's past that would cause her to not be eligible to become a Prime?

Sentinel placed the data pad he had been gripping in front of Councilmech Dragstrip, who was the speaker of the Council right now, before saying, "She shouldn't even be on this planet!" It was weird. Sentinel almost looked scared of Pandimala as he kept his optics locked on her. What the frag was, "She is the creation of two Decepticons!"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop to unbearably cold temperatures when he said that. Pandimala was the creation of two Decepticons? For a nano, that was all my processor could think on. But, then I allowed everything that she had done for us to come back in and I realized that Pandimala's family didn't matter. She had proven time and time again that she was worthy of being a top Autobot!

"What say you Pandimala?" Councilfemme Setback demanded of Pandimala. "Do you reject what Sentinel Major is accusing you of…or is it true?"

The only sign that Pandimala gave that she was upset by this was a quick twitch of her wings before she held her gaze at the Council. "It is true." While a small part of my processor was hurt that Pandimala hadn't shared this information with us before, I was more worried about the Council. That question almost made it sound like they would offline Pandimala right now if the answer she gave was the one she did. "I am the creation of two Decepticons. However, I left them in hopes,"

"Silence traitor!" Councilmech Dragstrip interrupted her.

A growl almost slipped my vocals at that and I was about to give the Council a piece of my processor. But, a thin servo against my shoulder caused me to glance to my side and I saw that Zarron was stopping me. What was he doing? He had known her for as long as I had and he knew that she wasn't a traitor! Dragstrip was making 'Mala sound like a monster and Zarron was stopping me from defending her!

"Everybot, stand down. Look at Pandimala. She is our de facto team leader. She has made no move to become violent with the Council. As much as we wish to do so, we must emulate the attitude that Pandimala has taken. Until she makes a move…if she makes a move, then we should not make a move.-Zarron" That private message came from Zarron and, as much as I wanted to rip the Council apart for even thinking that Pandimala was a traitor, I knew that Zar was right. So, I settled down back into my seat and Zarron removed his servo from my shoulder.

I must have missed the Council debating what to do because, suddenly, all of the Council members stood before Councilmech Dragstrip spoke. "By greatest vote, though not a unanimous vote," Right, because he had to say how voting went…but what were they voting on? Not giving Pandimala her rank as Prime? "the Council has come to a decision concerning the femme Pandimala." He then sent a glare down at Pandimala. She, though, stayed standing tall and took the glare. "Pandimala Major, the Council has decided to deny you the position of Prime." No! They couldn't do that.

Councilfemme Setback then took over. "Furthermore," Wait…what else was going on? "you will be stripped of your status as an Autobot effective immediately. You have one cycle to pack anything that you wish to take with you. At the end of that cycle, you are to report to the docking station to board a ship that will be provided for you that will be stocked with half a stellar cycle worth of supplies. You are to leave Cybertron, never to return."

My servo shook as the Council made its decision final. They all then left as two guards came and escorted Pandimala out of the room. As she walked by us, Pandimala sent us a quick apologetic glance before she was led out of the room. Soon, it was just the five of us in the room. How…how could they do this? This wasn't…this wasn't… "This isn't right!" I yelled as I slammed my servo against the seat next to me.

Tana nodded and I noticed that she looked just as angry as I was. "After all the dedication that Pandimala has put into being an Autobot. After all the sacrifices she had to make. It shouldn't matter that she happens to be the creation of two loyal Decepticons!" She then let out a growl to amplify her point.

Remcy finally put in his input. I hadn't seen his reaction during this and, now, I could tell that he was angry. "'Mala has proven her worth to the Autobots so many times that I have lost count. There are probably hundreds of Autobots who owe Pandimala a huge debt of gratitude for how many times she has covered for somebot."

Zarron nodded but I could see that he wasn't showing his anger like we were. "I agree with all of you, and more so in some ways. However, I meant what I said in that message. Pandimala has always led us by example. Even though she is one of the youngest among us, sans Balm, Pandimala has always been a figure that we have all looked up to. She is not fighting this violently…and so we shouldn't either."

"Then how _are_ we supposed to fight this!?" Tana yelled at the scout.

It was quiet among all of us for a nano as Tana asked Zarron that. How were we going to fight this? Primus be slagged I wasn't going to be sitting back while my family was being attacked like this. I had to do something! There had to be something… _anything_ that I could do!

"Why d…don't we do something about it?"

All of us turned to Balm as she said that. While the rest of us had responded vocally upset about this, I had figured that Balm would be more sad than angry about this. I wouldn't think she would be thinking of something to do to go against something as big as this so brazenly. She would support us…I didn't doubt her loyalty to Pandimala, but this was so different.

"Balm," I started, "what can we do that Pandimala would approve of?" I then motioned to the empty Council seats. "We can't overturn the Council's decision on this and I doubt we are going to convince the ones that voted against Pandimala otherwise."

The medic shook her helm. "No, I wouldn't do anything that 'Mala wouldn't approve of. I…" She then paused and I could tell she was barely keeping herself together right now. "I respect her too much to do that." She then looked up at us and I saw a confidence in her optics that I had rarely seen before. "But, being an apprentice to Ratchet had quite a few perks. One is that he speaks his processor about whatever he wants. And with my idea, we can fight the Council and they can't do a thing to stop us."

As the rest of us gathered around Balm to hear this plan, I felt that I was still shaking with anger. The Council would regret this solar. The five of us would make them regret it!

* * *

 **Vox: No! What happened? This isn't right!**

 **Authoress: *cries* I didn't mean to do it! I didn't!**

 **Tana: *paces* We just need to figure out how to destroy Sentinel for destroying Pandimala's dream.**

 **Balm: *shakes helm* No. W...we need to figure out how to h...help Pandimala. And I know how to.**

* * *

 **AN: And that is the next exciting chapter! If you read the original, you probably saw that coming. However, there are some slight things that I changed that may or may not affect the story. Things are changing and we have to make sure we keep up with the changes. XD**

 **Next chapter is going to have our group of friends enacting this plan that Balm has thought of. What could it be? It seems like this will be a drastic measure that will surely change their lives forever. Maybe take them away from everything that they knew? I've start work on the next chapter and it will be a long one. But, we are patient...right?**

 **I've decided to start giving you all the titles of the next chapters here at the end. So, without further ado, here are the next chapters.**

 **Chapter 11: When a Door Is Slammed Shut...**

 **Chapter 12: Eine Neue Welt**

 **Chapter 13:...? (find out next time)**

 **Well, that's all for now. Please drop a review, even to say hi, so I know that you all are alive out there! Well, that's all for now. Until next time, TTYL! *watches navy cops chase down suspects***


	12. When a Door Is Slammed Shut…

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.**

* * *

 **Vox. It is time for us to begin our operation.**

 **Remcy: *nods* I just hope we can make 'Mala feel better.**

 **Tana: *helmslaps them* I know we will make her feel.**

* * *

Ch. 11: When a Door Is Slammed Shut…

 **Ultra Magnus' 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I felt as if the weight of Cybertron was pressing against my shoulders right now. What the Council voted on for Pandimala…I wanted to go against it with every fiber of my being. But, with how close I was to Pandimala, it would look like I was showing favoritism toward her. Ever since she had first gone to boot camp, I had been afraid that this would happen. I had been afraid that Pandimala's true heritage would come out and others would have reacted badly. If Pandimala had made it to Prime, then I could have intervened during the decision to remove her status as an Autobot. But, there was not enough time.

And, due to that…Pandimala was being forced to give up her status as an Autobot and was being banned from Cybertron. She would not be allowed back onto the planet…the planet that she cared about that held many bots who cared about her as well. If there was only something that I could do. Frag it I was the commander of the Autobots and I couldn't stop this!

My helm snapped up as I heard a knock on my door. I was in my office and I hadn't expected to be interrupted. But, I was the Magnus and, no matter how hard this hit me, I had to be strong for the Autobots. "Come in."

The door to my office opened quickly and, to my surprise, Zarron walked in. Out of all the bots who could have walked into the door, I had expected Pandimala's close friends to be the least likely to walk through. I figured that they would be avoiding me for awhile after…well after this solar. "Ultra Magnus…do you have a few clicks?"

Since I had cleared out my schedule for the solar to celebrate Pandimala's appointment with her, I had more than a few clicks open. "Of course. Please, have a seat Zarron."

The scout glanced at the seat hesitantly and I would give almost anything to know what he was thinking at this click. But, I didn't have the opportunity to ask as Zarron decided to sit down in the seat. Once he was settled, he turned to look at me. The mech's visor seemed to study me for eternity before he spoke. "Ultra Magnus, unfortunately my time is limited so I can't approach this as delicately as I normally would like to. You are our friend and I don't like being so blunt." He then folded his servos together in front of him. "However, like I said, my time is limited." What was going on? This didn't sound like Zarron.

"What can I do for you Zarron?" I asked the mech. He was very serious and, since the mech wasn't normally blunt with his sentences, I knew that this was very important.

As he said, the mech didn't waste time. "I have come to inform you that I will be relieving myself of the title of Autobot effective as soon as I step on the ship that Pandimala has been given for her departure. However, having the Autobot insignia still on my chassis when I enter the ship may pose a problem. Since I have never had to report to anybot like most of my other boot camp mates have, then I was hoping that you could do the honor."

This was not what I was expecting him to say. However, it shouldn't have surprised me in all honesty. They have always been so close with each other. All of them have. Even the two newest of the group, Remcy and Balm, seemed to be well working pieces of a single bot. I remembered a time not long ago when I was checking in on their boot camp group.

Flashback:

 _I sighed as I glanced at the group of nine bots currently training on the field in front of me. There were three on three groups with one group doing transform-ups while they waited. After I heard about the incident with Pandimala and the live blaster fire on their first solar, I wanted to take some time and check in on this group. I was worried about them all. Boot camp is just supposed to simulate a battle, not put fresh recruits in real danger like they were. I was just thankful that one of the cadets, the young femme called Balm, had studied medical practices and was able to keep Pandimala online until Ratchet had arrived to help._

" _Ultra Magnus, long time since I've seen you around here."_

 _I turned and looked at Kup as he walked up to me, a cygar in his servo. Once he was up to me, I nodded and looked as Pandimala's team, which was made up of herself, Zarron, and Tana, were fighting a group made of a mech called Optimus, a femme called Elita-One, and a mech called Sentinel. The group doing transform-ups consisted of Vox, the femme called Balm, and the mech called Remcy. "Heard there was some trouble on their first solar. Figured seeing their Magnus might give the cadets reassurance that we are all with them."_

 _Kup raised an optics ridge at me and looked toward the cadets. "I know how you're connected to them Magnus. I don't mind." Well, I tried. "But, I must say that I'm glad you are here."_

" _Why?" Now I was confused. Why did Kup want me here?_

 _The mech motioned out to the recruits before saying, "Those four bots from housing. I haven't seen a group of bots work that well together, even from housing, for many solars. Not since my first team as an instructor. Most of the bots from that group went off to be pretty big." He then pulled a puff from his cygar. "I have a feeling these bots might be the same." He then blew out that puff._

 _As the smoke dissipated, I couldn't help but smirk slightly. Yeah, this group seemed to remind me of that team from so long ago. "I think you're right Kup." I then motioned toward Pandimala, who had just disabled Optimus. "And something is telling me that she might be the pinnacle of this group."_

 _To my surprise, Kup frowned. "Well, if danger prone is your definition of pinnacle then yes, Pandimala seems to be just that." He then motioned to the group as Vox's group stood to face Pandimala's. "Ever since she has been back, there have been six more incidents involving live ammunition on the testing field." Six? I hadn't heard of any of these. "Didn't report them to anybot but the ICD though. Want to know why?"_

 _I hated when Kup acted like this. Of course, I wanted to know the answer. "Yes, why did you keep them quiet?"_

 _The veteran smirked at that and motioned to the six bots currently facing off against each other. "Because of them. Some of the incidents could have been severe. However, those six have worked almost fluidly together to overcome the obstacles that have got in their way. Ever since that first incident, none of the bots have received more than a few scratches from those incidents. It's almost like those six bots think like one. Frag I have tried to train small groups of bots like that for stellars and, not only have those four from the housing been able to do it, but Remcy and Balm have naturally picked up on their group mentality. If those six ever make a team," He then took a drag of his cygar before letting it out. "they may just be the most fierce and competent team that the Autobots have ever seen…and that's saying a lot."_

 _While a part of my pride wanted to say that Kup was wrong about that, I glanced out at the practice field where the two teams of three were going at each other. He was right. If they got far enough to create their own team…that teamwork of theirs would be the best that the Autobot side has ever seen. "Off the record Kup," he turned to look at me as I continued to stare at the six bots. "I think I agree with you."_

End of Flashback.

I guess I should have seen this coming from them. However, just because I didn't see it coming, it didn't mean that I was not prepared for this. "Zarron, how much time do you think you have to spare?"

That question seemed to catch Zarron by surprise. "I want to be at the docks before Pandimala arrives." So, he had at least forty-five clicks. Good. Then this would be a quick run and I could help him the only way I could.

"Then follow me Zarron." I told the mech before I rose from behind my desk and made my way out of my office. From the pedesteps behind me, it seemed like Zarron was following me.

"Sir, where are we going?" Zarron asked me after we left Fortress Maximus and made our way through the streets of Iacon.

Instead of answering the mech directly though, I asked him a question. "Zarron, do you remember the first solar cycle you met Pandimala?"

The scout nodded. "Yes. Joint brought Pandimala into the living room and said that she was going to be our new housemate and we should get to know her." He then looked at me with a curious look. "Why?"

"Because, Zarron, I met her the solar before that. It was also on that solar that I discovered what she was."

He looked surprised at my response. "Sir…you knew that she was the creation of two Decepticons?"

We arrived in front of the building that I wanted to be at and so I stopped before nodding. "Yes. I did. The story is longer than we have time to tell, but I have been preparing for this situation to happen since that solar."

I then led Zarron up the stairs of the shop. "A smithy?" Zarron asked me in surprise.

Instead of answering him, I rang a bell and, not long after, a hauling femme came out from the back room. Her red and violet plating was covered in soot, so she must have been working on one of her projects. When her optics landed on me, I could see a look of understanding cross her faceplate. "It's time sir…isn't it?"

I nodded once before Ness went to the back room. While she was gone, I could practically feel Zarron staring at me. But, now wasn't the time to waste. He didn't have much time and I had one more thing to do for him before he took the item that Ness was retrieving and left. "Now Zarron, you wished for me to remove your insignia?"

He gave me a studying look but nodded. It didn't take long and, in no time, the Autobot insignia was off Zarron's chassis. While it broke my spark slightly to be losing another Autobot, I was glad that Pandimala had such loyal friends who would follow her through this. "Sir, thank you."

"I should thank you Zarron, for being such a good friend to Pandimala." Ness came back out and so I paused and took the item that she held. "Thank you, Ness." She nodded and went back to her workroom while I turned to Zarron. "Take this and get to the shipyards. Pandimala's ship is docked in slot 106." Zarron only hesitated briefly before he nodded and left the shop.

I stood there for a few nano-clicks. Something told me that Zarron was not going to be the only bot that the Autobots would be losing this solar. However, I could say that I was proud of them all. One in particular, Pandimala, I had to tell in the bot. So, I left to gather something I left in my office. Once I got that, I would make my way to the docks and wait for Pandimala.

 **Casius' 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

"I almost have you idiots." I mumbled to the pictures of bots I was sure were a part of a smuggling ring. Recently, Cybertron has had issues of bots smuggling weapons off-world to neutral traders who would get them to the Decepticons. It was my job to figure out who was behind these smuggling operations and shut down the entire outfit. However, as I continued to type away at the console in front of me, I realized that I was going to need help.

Thankfully, Remcy would be swinging back here after Pandimala's ceremony and then I could get his input about this block on the banking accounts I was trying to access. This would prove, without a doubt, which bots were involved with the smuggling ring.

It was strange. My opinion of Remcy changed so much from the first time I saw his designation on the list of exam takers. Back then, I thought that he was a spoiled brat who was going to use only his connections to get what he wanted. Connections weren't bad things to have but I believed that you had to work to get where you were. That Klink bot, he was still here unfortunately but I made sure to give him scrap whenever I could. Laziest mech I had ever met, and I had pegged his character exactly right.

However, Remcy still continued to surprise me. After he had passed both parts of the test, I had kept my distance from the mech to study him. He had earned his way into the CIA, much to my surprise at the time, and I had wanted to make sure that he would continue to keep his pedes clean before I started to respect the young mech and interact with him socially.

The solar that I first met Remcy in the bot was not one that I would forget. I had just fired my assistant, Hornet, because he was a lazy mech who was trying to use me as a connection without putting any effort to assist me. So, I literally kicked him out of my room. Then, Remcy showed up.

Flashback:

" _Get out of here Hornet. Never come back!" I yelled after the young green mech with black markings when I kicked him out. "If you aren't going to assist me, then I don't need your chassis in here wasting space!"_

 _The hauling mech turned and glared at me. "Good riddance, you crazy old geezer. All you do is make conspiracies and expect me to help you make them stick! It's boring! Good luck getting another bot to help you after this! I'll make sure to let everybot know how crazy you are!" Hornet then turned and walked away. I was about to turn away and return to my work when I heard two bots run into each other. "Watch where you are going idiot!" I heard Hornet yell at the bot he ran in to._

 _What I wasn't expecting was the vocals that I heard answer back. "First of all, I can see you are upset. But, that doesn't give you the right to take it out on everybot else you run into." That was that new recruit…Remcy! What was he doing here? His room was on the other side of the complex and I didn't think he would be over here. "Secondly," Remcy continued. "don't assume that I am an idiot just because we ran into each other. It's a pointless accusation that will get us nowhere. I have no idea of your mental capacity and you don't know mine. So, I apologize for running into you. However, I would like an apology for the unnecessary name calling."_

" _You…" Hornet seemed caught off guard by Remcy, as was I, and so Hornet didn't respond for a nano before he said, "Where do you get off saying that to me? You're that newbie, aren't you? Remcy right? I don't owe you any apology. You are what I say you are."_

 _Well, I had better get out there and stop Hornet from attacking the mech. The CIA was, unfortunately at times, a combat zone. It was set up like that, so we could deal with problems internally and not broadcast to all of Cybertron that we were having issues. Normally not a bad idea. But, it did allow bullying at a level. This was an example. Unfortunately for Remcy, Hornet was a skilled fighter as well as a member of the CIA. Remcy, from the records, had not seen the actual battlefield before and that would give Hornet a clear advantage. No matter what your connections were, like Remcy knowing the triple changer Pandimala, battle experience would trump that._

 _So, I stepped out into the hall and saw that both bots were facing each other, and both looked battle tense. However, to my surprise, Remcy was smirking at the mech. Maybe I would hold off on interfering? So far, Remcy had surpassed all my expectations of him. This could end up being another time._

" _I'm sorry but that's not true." Remcy stated. "I choose my own destiny and a bot such as yourself does not have any say over what that is to be. You may make suggestions, but I have the free will to decide whether I follow that suggestion. Now, if you would please excuse me, I have had a long solar already and I would like to continue on."_

 _Hornet did not like Remcy's comeback at all. With a growl, Hornet launched at the new mech. To my surprise, Remcy continued to look calm as the mech charged at him. Right when Hornet was on top of the mech, Remcy sidestepped him and stuck out his pede. This caused Hornet to trip and fall forward. Had Remcy read his opponent that fast? "What the frag?" Hornet growled at Remcy as he stood back up. This time, Hornet looked weary of Remcy. I couldn't see Remcy's faceplate now, but from his chassis language, I could tell that the mech was still as calm as he was at the start of this._

" _I wouldn't try that again." Remcy advised. "You seem like a top-heavy hauler and, using a charge move like that, you open up your weakness in balance. That kind of an attack didn't stand a chance. So, I advise that you give up now while you still have your pride." This didn't make sense. How did Remcy read that attack when it only lasted three nanos? Usually warriors were the only ones that reacted like that…or bots with battlefield experience. Remcy didn't fall into either of those categories._

" _How did you read that much so quickly?" Hornet asked as he stepped back from Remcy. I could see a nervous look in Hornet's optics._

 _Remcy was not the regular recruit that could be pushed around. I was curious as to how Remcy was going to respond to this question. "Well, my goal is to become the best intelligence agent that the CIA has ever seen. That means retaining information that I observe about bots in front of me…even at a few nano glance." He then let out a laugh. "As for your attack itself? Well, I happen to be friends with two larger than average femmes. Tana a little wider and 'Mala a little taller. While Pandimala doesn't have the issue nearly as bad as Tana, both have top-heavy chassis and they have had to adjust their fighting styles to compensate that." Remcy then paused. "So, why don't you go hit the washracks for a few clicks and calm down. I really don't want to fight you but, thanks to being in plenty of exercises with the War Trap, including boot camp, I feel like I could do alright."_

 _That little bit of confidence that was in Hornet's optics vanished as Remcy answered his question. "Sorry Remcy. I'll go hit the washracks." Hornet then retreated. Honestly, if I was in the same position, as Hornet, I would too. I forgot that Pandimala was known as the War Trap for a reason. Being in training exercises with her would give bots experience like bots got on the battlefields. That gave Remcy a pede up on Hornet. But, I appreciated that Remcy didn't use that piece of information until the end. He tried to get Hornet to stand down using his own credentials and logical reasoning. Plus, he continued to avoid the fight and offered Hornet multiple lines to get out of the confrontation._

 _Maybe it was time for me to put myself into the young mech's path? When the young mech let out a sigh, I decided to jump in. "You done making a racket out here?"_

 _Remcy jumped at my interjection and turned to me before looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry sir. Was just making my way back to my room. Accidently ran into a bot and we talked for a bit." Well, the young mech wasn't lying…though I would classify that confrontation as 'talking for a bit'. "Did I interrupt your work?"_

 _The young mech looked worried and I realized that I had better relieve him of that. "No mech. I unfortunately had to just fire the mech you were…talking to," I gave him a knowing look at that before continuing. "so, I find myself without an assistant. You wouldn't happen to want the job?" This would allow me to study the mech some more and see if he was truly a bot that went against the mold of most bots who had a chance of privilege growing up. I had met a few but he seemed to be taking the lead._

 _The brown mech with orange markings stared at me for a few clicks before he smiled and nodded. "Sure." Really? After the speech on choice that Remcy just gave Hornet, I didn't expect the bot to accept that so quickly. "I want to learn more, and I bet that you can teach me a lot."_

 _I raised an optic ridge that that. "Are you calling me old?" I asked him._

 _Remcy smiled and shook his helm. "No sir, just experienced. I don't have much experience here at the CIA and, given that Hornet used to be your assistant, you should have some experience that I could learn from."_

 _Well, if anything I could say that this was going to be fun. "Fine. Get me a cube of energon and we can get started."_

End of Flashback.

I was jarred out of that memory as my door opened rather quickly. Turning, I was surprised to see that Remcy looked upset by something. His chassis was tense, and his optics were immediately searching. When they landed on me, I realized that he was looing for me. "Remcy, what happened?" I asked the mech. I was concerned. Remcy wasn't an easy bot to fluster yet something caused the bot to be just that.

Remcy glanced at me before saying, "Casius, I don't have time to waste. I've already packed but I wanted to let you know before I left." Before he left? Was he quitting the CIA? What the frag happened at that ceremony with Pandimala?

"Remcy, you aren't making sense. Calm down." I ordered the panicking bot.

Finally, the young mech paused and let out a vent before staring at me in the optics. The look in his optics was torn and I had a feeling that I was not going to like it. "Cas…Pandimala is being forced to leave Cybertron and give up being an Autobot."

…What?! "Why?" I almost yelled at the mech who I looked to as a confidant. Pandimala was one of the most loyal bots to the Autobot cause that I had ever met! How could they take the status of Autobot away from her?

Remcy looked slightly nervous before he answered me. "It came out during the ceremony that Pandimala is the creation of Decepticons. So, the Council voted as a majority, though not unanimous, that she be stripped of the title of Autobot and forced to leave Cybertron. She has thirty more clicks to get her stuff together before she has to go to her ship." Remcy then looked more confident as he motioned to his own Autobot insignia. "Cas…Vox, Zarron, Tana, Balm and I have decided, as an act of protest to this decision, to remove our marks and become neutrals with Pandimala. Could you please remove my insignia for me?"

That insignia meant the world to Remcy and, for him to ask me this request, I knew that he was serious. While there was so much I wanted to say to the mech, I knew that he was on a short timeline and so I simply nodded and grabbed a tool from my computer table. "Of course, Remcy. I also have a gift for you to put in. Come over here." He did, and I started my work.

"What is the gift Cas?" Remcy asked me.

I put the mod in as I spoke. "It's an invisibility mod. A good friend of mine bequeathed it to me before he passed. Figured you would have better use for it than I do." It didn't take long after that to remove the insignia but, before it was gone, I decided to get one more word in. "Remcy, it has been an honor to work with you."

Remcy, now a neutral, stood and turned to me before giving me a very uncharacteristic-like hug. "Don't you be changing Cas. Don't let these young bots mess with you." He then paused and hugged me a little tighter. "Thank you for everything Cas. It has been my honor to work with you." He then let go and nodded once toward me. I nodded back before Remcy ran out the door.

I stood in the room for a few seconds before I heard the door to my washracks open. It didn't take a genius to know what to say. "If you hurry, I can help you and you can catch him. Don't worry about the other idiot you two are friends with. I'll make sure that there isn't any trouble."

 **Vox's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I tapped my pede impatiently. After Balm had told us her plan, I had gone to my place and packed everything that I needed before I had called Alpha Trion. Working with the CBI really didn't give me a superior, per say, and so he was the bot that I looked to as an example. Even though he was on the Council, I don't think he was one of the ones that voted for 'Mala to be forced to give everything she had worked for and dreamed up. He had known her for too long to allow that.

A part of me still couldn't believe that this was happening…that this was real. Pandimala…one of the most steadfast Autobots that I had ever met, being forced to leave the planet and the Autobots just because she was created by Decepticons. It shouldn't matter that she was created by the enemy. She worked constantly for as long as I had known her to make her dreams come true, to prove that she was an Autobot and believed in the same cause that they did…just for them to slam the fact that she didn't come from Autobots in her faceplate and tear her achievements away from her.

"Vox," I turned my helm to the door and saw Alpha Trion walking toward me quickly. "my apologies for the late arrival. There were some things that I needed to take care of before I could come and meet you." Once he was closer in front of me, I saw regret come to his optics. "I wish to also apologize for everything that happened this solar. I did not know. Pandimala earned her place among us and for that to be taken from her…I didn't want that. I voted for Pandimala to stay among us."

Before the old mech apologized himself offline, I decided to step in. "Alpha Trion, I know that you wouldn't vote for that sort of thing. It's not in your character. However, I do appreciate you letting me know." Alpha Trion was my friend and I didn't like that he was feeling guilty about this. The ones who _should_ be feeling guilty were the Council members who voted for Pandimala to be cast aside and Sentinel, who had brought the information forward in the first place.

…how _had_ he gotten that information anyways?

"Vox," I let that thought drop as I paid attention to Alpha Trion. "regardless of our connection, I do apologize." Then, he motioned to me. "Now, what did you wish to see me about?"

That was right! I was still so upset about what happened to Pandimala that I forgot that I had asked Alpha Trion here for a reason. "Sir, there is a group of us who do not believe that the decision of the Council was the correct one. So, along with them, I wish to have my Autobot insignia removed and I was hoping that you would remove it for me."

I was surprised when Alpha Trion slipped a smirk. "You all have always been close. This shouldn't surprise me. Thankfully, while this does surprise me, I have been prepared for this." He then took out what I recognized as an internal mod before saying, "I purchased this some time ago and was waiting for your next promotion to give this to you. But, given the circumstances, now seems like the best time."

What was that? I didn't recognize the shape of the mod and that was weird. I studied different mods that a bot could get but this one wasn't familiar to me. "What is it?" I asked as he walked up. Of course, I was going to let him put it in. I trusted Alpha Trion with my spark. But, I did want to know what he was putting in me.

"Impatient? I thought I helped you get rid of that trait stellars ago?" Well, I _was_ pressed for time. Thankfully, I didn't have to answer that as Alpha Trion continued. "This is called the C.P. mod in many circles. Long form calls this the Chameleon Pretender mod. It allows you to scan a temporary secondary alt mode that will fit your chassis. Helps when trying to stay inconspicuous and you are spotted in one form."

Wow! This probably wasn't easy for Alpha Trion to get so, as he started to insert it in my systems, I thanked the mech. "Thank you sir. I appreciate everything that you have done for me."

After a few clicks, the old mech finished installing the mod and moved to removing my insignia. There was a silence that fell between us before he spoke. "Think nothing of it Vox." He then finished removing the insignia before he turned me to face him. "Let Pandimala know that there are many of us who support her…even if we can't show it in public." He then paused. "Do you know how to get to her ship?"

Nodding, I motioned to the doors. "Yeah, Rem got the information for us all. It won't take me long to get there."

Alpha Trion nodded. "Good." He then looked at me serious again. "Vox, I know that all of you will go far…even outside of the Autobots. But," But what? "Vox, I need you to promise me something."

"What?" I asked him, trying to get him to get to the point.

And thankfully, he did. "I need you to promise me that you will keep your loyalty to Pandimala and help her through this. She is going to stumble, and she will need the support of all of you to keep going."

That was it? He didn't have to worry about that. "That's the plan Alpha Trion." I then turned before deciding to give the mech one more expression of thanks. "Again, thank you Alpha Trion. I hope we meet again one solar."

"I hope that will happen as well." I heard Alpha Trion say. "Calm cosmos and smooth flying to you all Vox." I then walked out the door.

 **Ratchet's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

Even though it has been dozens of stellar cycles since I first met the young femme called Balm, I have never regretted a cycle of it. True, Balm was a nervous femme. But, she was a genius when it came to her medical training. While I knew that Knockout had been teasing Joint after Balm's medical exam was over, he did have a point. Joint had learned what I had to teach, but Balm had absorbed my teachings and had evolved them over the course of her training.

I had been surprised when, after her exam and she had been offered to be the assistant to Ultra Magnus' personal medic, Corona, she had refused. That was a high honor and most bots would have jumped on that chance. I had been waiting for Balm to accept it promptly when she was asked. But, she had surprised me and turned them down immediately and said that she was going to stay on as my assistant. Why would she give up being in a position that would help her future career like that?

Later, Balm had said that she turned them down because she wasn't done learning. She had told me that there was more that I could teach her, and she wanted to have all the knowledge she could get before joining Pandimala's team. Now, that time was coming soon, and I wasn't sure that I was ready to see her go. After so long of her being my assistant, I had gotten used to her being around.

The doors opening caused me to glance up and I dropped the cleaning rag I was using before I ran up to Balm. She looked upset about something and, since she was coming back from Pandimala's ceremony, I knew that it was going to be something about the triple changer. "Balm, what happened?"

Balm looked at me and I could tell that she was trying not to cry. "The Council…th…they…they," What the frag did those fraggers do to put Balm in this state? Before I could gently press Balm on the 'what happened' mystery, she calmed herself down. "they took away P…Pandimala's status as an Autobot and are f…forcing her to leave Cybertron."

"Why?" I asked her calmly. While I wanted to yell in anger at the stupidity of the Council for making the only triple changer leave the Autobots, I knew that would not help Balm in telling me what happened.

It took Balm another click to calm herself enough to answer me. "They f…found out that Pandimala is the cr…creation of two Decepticons."

That was it? Honestly, I had suspected as much. No other Autobot was a flier and, being a triple changer to boot, that made her have a high chance of being the creation of the Decepticons. But, I never said anything about it. She was loyal to the Autobot cause and had been training herself to be the best Prime that the Autobots had ever had. "Balm, that was a stupid decision on the part of the Council. Pandimala has been the most loyal bot that I have ever seen come though the Autobots." From the hesitant look that Balm suddenly grew, I had a feeling that their group already had a plan to combat this. "Balm, what have you all planned?"

The yellow-green femme shifted nervously before she started to speak. "Well…it was my idea really." Really? I didn't expect that. "Whenever you told me stories about times in the past, especially about when bots didn't agree with the Council before, you said that it was always best to hit them where they didn't expect us to. Most bots would think that we would protest here on Cybertron. But, I figured that a way that they wouldn't expect us to fight back…" She then went quiet and got nervous again.

I had a feeling about what she was going to say but knew that she needed to say it herself. "Balm, it's alright. I wouldn't get angry with you for how you all are going to protest this."

Balm took in an intake before nodding. "Well, to fight back, I figured that the best course to take would be for all of us to follow Pandimala into exile and remove ourselves from the Autobots. Everybot agreed."

Honestly, I was proud of Balm. Even though it was going to be hard to let her go, her plan to reject the Council would work better than she thought. Out of the five of them leaving with Pandimala, Balm was probably the least recognized, and she was pretty sought after as a medic. The others made large impacts in their fields that the Autobots would be feeling for hundreds of stellars at the least.

Balm's plan was a multi-directional attack at the Council and all they were going to be doing was leaving. "Balm, I am so proud of you. Of course, I will let you go. But, I won't let you go unprepared."

She looked confused at that before I went over to one of my drawers. "What do you mean Ratchet?"

Shaking my helm, I didn't answer her until I found a wrapped box that I had stored in there. Once I turned back to her, I answered her question. "Well, I know that your sparkday is coming up in three solars. So, I got you a little something. Since you are going to be leaving, now is as good a time as any to give it to you." I then held the gift out to her.

Time wasn't wasted as Balm ripped the covering off the present before she opened the box. Once the box was opened, Balm glanced up to me and smiled. "Thank you Ratchet." Inside was a med kit along with three wrenches. She placed the items inside her subspace before, to my surprise, she pulled out a frame before handing it to me. "This is for you. It's from our first medical conference that we went to together."

Taking the frame, I placed it in my own subspace before I took the insignia off Balm's chassis. Once it was gone, Balm gave me a hug. "Thank you, Balm."

Nodding she hugged me a little tighter. "Thank you Ratchet…for everything." She then let go and left.

It was quiet around me for a few clicks and I realized that this was what my med bay was going to be like for the foreseeable future. While I didn't like it, I knew that it was for the best. Balm needed to be with her friends at a time like this. This would be important for her future and I couldn't hold her back.

"I can go with doc. Cybertron and the Autobots aren't exactly worth losing contact with Balm…no offense." A voice came from the area of my washracks. I had been preforming a check-up and the bot had been washing up when Balm came in.

In response to the voice, I nodded. "Would make me feel better if you did. I'll make sure to let everybot else know where you're at. Better get moving though. From how Balm was acting, there won't be much time until they leave."

The voice let out a chuckle. "Don't worry about that doc. I've got my connections. Plus, my apartment is one of the closest to the docks. I'll get there before any of them realize that I'm going."

 **Tana's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

I didn't waste a nano, after Balm told us her plan and we agreed on it, in rushing to Guardian Headquarters. Of all the low-down shots that the Council has taken over the stellars, this had to be the worse. The other Guardians, upon my induction into their ranks, did not hesitate in sharing information with me regarding their interactions with the Council in the past.

But, even after going through the files, nothing got my energon churning more than this. Rejecting to give Pandimala the position of Prime, removing her status as an Autobot, and forcing her to leave Cybertron! So, what if she was the creation of two Decepticons! Family didn't determine what sort of bot you were!

Vox, Zarron, and I knew that better than almost anybot besides Pandimala. Being in housing before this meant that we didn't have a family except for each other, Joint, and Blockade. No bot had wanted us, so we were shipped to a place where we would hopefully be accepted. We fought to get where we were this solar.

Pandimala had fought twice as hard as we had. She had this heavy secret weighing her down the entire time and that same weight that the three of us had. Even though she had fought through all of that, she was treated like scum the click it was revealed that she may not be a 'pure' Autobot straight from the Well or, in Balm's case, straight from two Autobot creators.

Finally, I reached the twelve-story tall building that was Guardian Headquarters and didn't waste a nano in marching in through the front doors. There was no bot in the lobby but that was alright. I wasn't planning on hanging out here for long. Arriving at a door with a combination lock, I punched in the code for entrance. As soon as I did that, the door swung open and walked three steps inside, closed the door, and turned back forward before reaching my right servo out and pressing a large black button on the wall.

Immediately, the lights in the building started to flash. Every system of lights would flicker until every Guardian was in our meeting room. This was a signal for a dark meeting and it allowed us to turn off all signals going in or coming out of the meeting room. That way, if the room was bugged, those bugs would be made ineffective. I didn't waste time in moving toward the elevator and entering it. Odds were that one of the other Guardians, at the least, would be joining me in here. The meeting room was on the top floor, to avoid bots listening in by the windows.

Once the elevator doors shut, I found myself pacing from pede to pede with impatience. Time was ticking away, and I needed to give a full debriefing of recent events to Hinge and the others before I packed and got to the docks. I had to get there before Pandimala and, since Guardians HQ was fifteen clicks from the docks, then I had about thirty clicks before I had to be on the ship.

Soon, the elevator doors opened, and I didn't waste any time going to the doors to the meeting room. When I opened the doors, however, I was surprised to see that everybot was already here. How did that happen? "How are you all here already?" I questioned the five mechs once the door shut and the dark meeting mode was activated.

Hinge motioned around the table before answering me. "We were preparing for our meeting with Pandimala after the induction ceremony to discuss the situation with you joining her team." He then looked at me with a concerned look, one shared by the others sitting at the table. "Tana, what happened? Why have you called a meeting?"

I glanced at each one of the mechs before sitting down. I was about to give them a lot of information and they had to be ready for it…and I should probably sit down to avoid throwing chairs around. Once I was sure that they were ready, I began. "The ceremony didn't go as planned. During the ceremony, Sentinel Prime came in and said that Pandimala did not deserve to be Prime because she shouldn't be on the planet to begin with. When asked why, he said that she was the creation of two Decepticons."

The room stayed silent for a click at my revelation before Chem spoke. "Tana, what was Pandimala's reaction to this?"

My processor flashed to Pandimala's reaction and I shivered slightly before continuing. "She barely flinched her wings before immediately answering that it was true. Pandimala didn't try and hide it. It was almost like she was relieved that she didn't have to keep it quiet anymore. She tried to tell the Council how she came to the Autobots, but they silenced her and called her a traitor. I wanted to interject right there and rip into all of them. But, Zar stopped us all. He sent a private message saying that we needed to follow Pandimala's example until she made a move. The Council then voted by greatest majority to strip Pandimala of her rank as Autobot and ship her off Cybertron. She has thirty-three clicks before she will have to go to her ship, which is being provided for her…though I doubt that it will be that nice given the circumstances."

Of course, the last part of that wasn't heard as the others started to vocalize their own reactions. "The Council is full of idiots!" Blackbit growled as he slammed a clenched servo against the round table. I could see that he was angry about what I reported, and obviously his anger was directed in the same direction mine was.

"Sentinel Major," Chem started with a growl in his tone. "he had no right to be going through classified files. If he hadn't, then Pandimala could have had a better defense against this injustice being put against her. She has worked so hard for the Autobots and now the Council has just pushed her aside."

Foresight nodded at that. "Yeah. Honestly, I bet Sentinel was probably jealous. It isn't a secret that he wants to be a Magnus one solar. Pandimala having the chance to become Prime before him probably set him off to stop it. If she became Prime before he did, then she stood a higher chance of becoming Magnus. If that happened, the odds of him becoming Magnus would shrink considerably."

Hindsight took the more violent route like Blackbit and slammed his servo down on the table. "This is an abuse of the Council's power! If the rest of the populace knew about this, the majority would vote for Pandimala to stay. She has more than proven that she belongs with the Autobots! Now she's been tossed out!"

While I was upset with the Council for the decision that was made, I needed to keep a calm helm and remind the mechs around me that the vote wasn't a unanimous one. I wasn't so worried about Blackbit, Chem, and Hinge…but the twins might decide that they might have to pay the Council back personally. "Before you all get too out of servo," I started with a slight growl in my vocals…still feeling anger at the Council. "I feel like I should remind all of you that the vote was not a unanimous one…just enough for the deed to be done."

Hinge, thankfully, must have noticed my worried glance at the twins at that because he nodded, "Yes, that is a good point Tana. We don't need to be causing any unnecessary trouble with the Council right now. They will be up in arms and will be looking for a fight."

The twins and Blackbit looked disappointed at that and, honestly, I suddenly felt a weight come on my spark as I glanced at the five mechs sitting around the table with me. They became a second family to me, since Joint, Blockade, Pandimala, Vox, Remcy, Balm, and Zarron were my first family. Also, these mechs were my first team. Now…with Balm's plan, I was going to have to leave them. This seemingly crazy assortment of bots that Hinge brought together and made an awesome team…the team that accepted me into their ranks.

"Tana…are you okay?"

I glanced up at Blackbit, who asked me that with concerned optics. I wanted to nod and say that everything was fine…but it wasn't. I was going to be leaving them to support Pandimala…and it was hurting more than I thought it would and I hadn't even told them yet!

"Tana…" I glanced at Hinge and saw that he had an understanding look in his optics. I knew that look. It was the look that said that he knew what I was thinking and that I should just let it out. "you all have already come up with a plan to go against this…haven't you?"

This wasn't the time to hold back and so I nodded. "Yeah…Balm was the one who thought it up and we all agreed to it." I played with my servos in nervousness for a click before I continued. "The five of us who have been close to Pandimala…we've decided to leave Cybertron and give up our status as Autobots with Pandimala. Hinge…can you take off my insignia for me?" This was so hard…leaving the Autobots. Since the Guardians were a group of Autobot soldiers…this meant that I was leaving them as well. I wouldn't be a Guardian anymore.

The room stayed silent for a nano before Hinge spoke. "Tana, I will take your title of Autobot from you." He then walked up to me and did so. As he did, though, he continued to speak. "Though you will no longer be an Autobot and will travel far from us…you will always be a Guardian. Nothing can take that away from you."

My optics widened in surprise and, once Hinge removed my insignia, I turned to look at him fully. "Can you do that Hinge?" I would still be a Guardian? This sounded almost too good to be true.

But, Hinge nodded with a small smile. "Of course, I can Tana. The Guardians are a group of soldiers outside of the Autobot chain of command. In a sense, we are mercenaries, but we don't fight for money. We fight for what we believe is true and we fight with honor and dignity. If you don't disgrace the title of Guardian, then it will always be yours." Hinge then offered me a servo to stand, so I did, before he sent me a transfer. As I took it, he explained. "I just sent you the private comm for the Guardians. If you are ever in need of our help, just send a message through that and we will come to you. Also, we've given you a stipend of credits to use in case of an emergency while you are all out there."

"Thank you Hinge." I thanked my leader. I could see that this was as hard for Hinge and the others as it was for me. They were losing a member of their very close-knit family as well.

Hinge smiled and nodded before turning to Blackbit. "Blackbit, if you could, go and assist Tana in packing. The rest of us will wait for you all in the lobby."

Blackbit smiled toward Hinge and nodded before looking at me. "Of course. I would be honored."

So, the two of us moved to the doors and, once we were through them, we walked to the elevator. Not a word was said as we went down to the seventh floor, which housed all our rooms. I could see, from the glances that I stole of him, that Blackbit looked torn about something. But, I figured it would be best if we were in my room before anything was said. Thankfully, my room was directly to the right of the elevator, so it wasn't long before the two of us were in my room.

I went immediately to my pictures from when I was little and started to put them in my subspace. Thankfully, that was when Blackbit finally decided to get whatever was worrying him off his chestplate. "Tana…it's not going to be the same without you here."

Even though it felt wrong to say that I would miss any of the Guardians above the others, I knew in my spark that I would miss Blackbit the most. After all the adventures and misadventures that we had been on, I knew that leaving him was going to be the hardest decision that I have ever made. "I know Blackbit, and it isn't going to be the same for me not having you all around…" I then remembered that we were supposed to go out for dinner tomorrow. Guess that was out of the picture. I had been really excited about that too. "I'll have to take a storm check on dinner tomorrow though."

Blackbit let out a chuckle at that. "You and your storm checks…they always come in the most serious of circumstances, don't they?"

A smile slipped on my faceplate as I nodded. "I know. Guess 'Mala isn't the only one with the bad luck. If we ever meet up off world, we can make it up then. I'll make sure to know the best place to grab a drink for you."

"I'll hold you to that Tana." Blackbit stated as he handed me my weapon cleaning kit. I grabbed hold of it and the two of us stared at the object. This was the last item that I had to pack. Plus, with twenty clicks left to get to the station, I knew that we didn't have much time.

"Well, guess it's time to go." Blackbit muttered.

While he normally didn't mutter, I knew that now wasn't the time to tease him about that. "I know."

So, the two of us stood up before moving to the elevator. Once we were inside, and I reached to push the button, Blackbit suddenly spoke. "Tana, I've got something for you."

He then dug into his subspace, as the elevator started to move, before pulling out a wrapped present. When he handed it to me, I didn't waste any time in opening it. When I saw what was inside, I smiled softly. "Blackbit…they're beautiful." I then pulled out a set of knuckle joint busters. I had been looking at some to improve my close combat capabilities. Guess Blackbit noticed. I then put them in my subspace.

"You can have them be covered with an electric shock. Should do some mean damage to anything that tries to give you trouble off-world." Blackbit explained them for me.

These were awesome. Glancing up at Blackbit, I smiled widely before acting on impulse and kissing him on the cheek. Before he could respond to that, the doors to the elevator opened and the two of us stepped out to see the others standing there.

Of course, they weren't standing still for long as they all gathered around me and enveloped me in a group hug. "We're going to miss you Tana." The twins cried out together.

I let out a laugh as we all separated. "Mechs, this isn't goodbye forever. I'm sure we'll meet again some solar."

Chem just smiled and nodded while Blackbit looked in a stupor. Hinge, thankfully, was still able to respond. "Sounds like a plan Tana. Until we meet again, calm cosmos and smooth flying to you all Tana, Guardian."

I smiled and nodded before turning and running toward the docks. I had fifteen clicks to get on the ship without Pandimala noticing. I would be cutting my arrival close but that was alright. With the support of the Guardians and my friends, I knew that this was going to go just fine.

 **Pandimala's 1** **st** **P.O.V.**

After everything that I've been through…after all the pain, suffering, and sacrifice…all that work taken away from me right when I was about to achieve my greatest dream. Becoming a Prime was in my grasps. Now…now I was without my Autobot insignia and seven clicks away from having to leave the world and bots that I cared about so much. The Guardians, Casius and his theories, Alpha Trion, Joint and Blockade, Ratchet, Ultra Magnus…and Balm, Vox, Zarron, Remcy, and Tana…they were all my friends and I was never going to be able to see them here on Cybertron ever again.

Most of my things were already packed away in my subspace. The only item that was left was Mr. Lunor…the stuffed moon that I had received as a present so long ago. He was being held in my grasp like he was a lifeline for me. Mr. Lunor represented all the struggles that I had gone through in my existence to be at this point. I had taken him with me everywhere that I went, and I always panicked when he was out of sight.

Now, he was here with me as I was about to have to give up everything that I cared about…because I was the creation of two Decepticons. All my hard work meant nothing to them…NOTHING! The Autobots had been the faction that I had placed all my hopes and loyalties in. Now, there was nothing left. I was being sent away and I was branded a traitor.

Traitor.

That word echoed in my helm as I looked at Mr. Lunor. To the Autobots, I was worse than a Decepticon now. I was one that had earned their trust and then tore it down. But, that wasn't true. My loyalty has been with the Autobots since the click that I escaped from my home…my parents…everything I knew…to join them.

"Time's up Pandimala." The voice on the other side stated.

Well, it looked like it was time for me to go. Once I put Mr. Lunor back in my subspace, I stood and folded my wings against my back. My 'escorts' seemed like the jumpy kind and they might be nervous if my wings were out. Since that was taken care of, I made my way to the door. When I opened it, I was surprised at what I saw.

"Voltage Minor, I can assure you that the five of us can take Pandimala to her ship just as well as you, Scorchpoint, and Hangbang can." Chem, a member of the Guardians, spoke to the three bots who were supposed to escort me.

Voltage Minor, a nervous sort of mech most of the time, looked between Chem and me before saying, "Are you sure this is alright? I mean…the Council did order us to,"

Hinge, thankfully, stepped in. "Then think of it as an order. You know as well as any Autobot that the Guardians hold a rank higher than that of Prime in the order of things. If the Council has any objections, I'll meet with them to discuss it after we escort Pandimala." He then turned to me. "You won't try anything on us will you Pandimala?"

Smiling, I shook my helm. "No Hinge. I know that you five could take me out the instant I tried…if I wanted to try."

Chem then took back over from Hinge. "See? Us Guardians will be just fine. Why don't you lot head over to Maccadam's for a drink? All this stress must be getting to you."

Voltage Minor looked between the six of us again before he finally nodded. "Fine. Let's go bots." He and the other two on his team then left, leaving me with the mechs who were in the Guardians.

Blackbit then motioned to the door before saying, "Well, as much as we would like to stop this, the Council didn't seem too keen on taking back that fragged up order of theirs."

Well, at least the Guardians were on my side in this. But, as we walked out of my apartment complex, I wanted to ask them something that was bothering me. "Hinge…where is Tana? I thought…well… I thought she would have been here with you when I heard you all." I was worried that Tana wasn't here with the Guardians. Was she mad that I kept my origins from her…were they all upset with me?

Thankfully, before I could worry too much, Hindsight jumped in. "Don't worry your thrusters off 'Mala. Tana would have given anything to be here with you. But, she was requested to go on a time sensitive mission that only she could help with." Relief flooded my systems when Hindsight said that. She wasn't mad at me. I wasn't sure how I would feel if I had to leave them all and they were mad at me.

The walk from my apartment to the docks was shorter than I wanted but, when we arrived at the doors, I smiled when I saw Ultra Magnus there. "Hinge," Ultra Magnus started.

"Yes sir?" Hinge responded to Ultra Magnus, waiting for him to respond.

"I'll take over from here. Why don't you all go to the viewing dock?" Ultra Magnus suggested to the leader of the Guardians.

A knowing look passed between the two before Hinge nodded. "Of course sir." Hinge then turned to the other Guardians. "You heard the boss. Let's go get some nice seats." The five of them then went off.

When I turned back to Ultra Magnus, he motioned me to follow him and I did so. Once we were inside the hall that would take us to the docking bay, he stopped and turned to me. "Pandimala…I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you from this." I could see that this was adding so much weight to his shoulders and, while his shoulders were wide, they didn't need the extra weight of this on them.

So, I shook my helm. "Ultra Magnus, I always knew in my spark that this solar was bound to come some-solar. I've always been braced for it. I just didn't expect it to happen on this solar of all solars."

Of course, Ultra Magnus wasn't making it easy to change his processor. "I know Pandimala, but as leader of the Autobots, I wish I had the power to reverse the Council's decision. But, unfortunately, I do not."

I placed a servo on Ultra Magnus' shoulder, turning him to face me, before I smiled. "Ultra Magnus, you've done more for me in my existence than I could have ever even hoped to have asked. You gave me a chance to be an Autobot, to make great friends, and be an example to future Autobots that come through. There is nothing more that I could have ever asked from you."

Ultra looked surprised at my speech for a nano before he smiled as well and nodded. "You are a wise and humble femme Pandimala. It has been my honor to be your leader." To my surprise, he then went and reached into his subspace before he pulled out a long box with a latch in the front to open it. "Even though you didn't ask for it, I want you to have this. It was supposed to be my gift to you after the ceremony but…well…please accept this much from this old mech."

I couldn't stop the chuckle from escaping my lips before I took the box. "You aren't old Ultra Magnus. Experienced maybe, but definitely not old." I then lifted the latch before opening the box. When I saw what was inside, my spark stopped, and tears threatened to slip from my optics.

There, nestled in black mesh, was a long dagger that was black with green markings. About fifty stellars ago, I had been taking a walk with Ultra Magnus down the streets of Praxus and I had seen this dagger in the window of one of the smith shops there. But, it was too much for me to spend on a dagger at that time and had just commented how nice it looked to me. Ultra Magnus must have gone back later and bought it. When I picked the dagger out of the box, placing said box in my subspace, I saw that, there on the base of the dagger, was the strange symbol that was on the pendant Ultra Magnus gave to me so long ago when he first dropped me off at Joint and Blockade's place.

"I wanted to make sure you didn't forget that you have friends here Pandimala…" I looked up at Ultra Magnus when he said that and saw that this was hurting him just as much as it was hurting me.

Knowing that there was only one thing to do, I acted on impulse and pulled Ultra Magnus into a hug before he could say otherwise. "Thank you so much Ultra. I…I'm going to miss you so much." I then broke down and started to cry. After holding off on crying for everything that has happened this solar, I couldn't hold it back anymore.

I felt as Ultra put his left servo around to pull me closer before he used his right to brace the back of my helm. This action alone caused me to cry more. I was going to be losing everything! Everything that I knew was going to be left behind. I was…I was scared. "It's alright 'Mala. Just take some intakes." He then stepped slightly back before using his right servo to make me look up at him. "This is the start of your own grand adventure. If we ever meet again in the cosmos, you will have so many stories to tell me."

Finally letting go of Ultra Magnus, I stepped back and nodded before wiping away my tears. They were used and now it was time to move forward. "They will be amazing stories Ultra…I promise you that."

Ultra Magnus smiled and nodded at that before motioning me forward. I followed him diligently through the doors to the docking bay. Once we were through, I felt my optics widen in shock at the sight before me. This ship…it was massive! And not only that, it looked brand new! Did the Council know about this?

"Don't worry Pandimala." Ultra Magnus spoke before motioning to the ship. "This is not an Autobot ship. The Council has no rights to this ship. Myself, Alpha Trion, Ratchet, Casius and Sturis, Terazda Major, Team Galaxy, and the Guardians all pitched in to pay for it. It was to be everybot's gift to you and your team. But, given the circumstances, we've all agreed that you should take her with you."

I was pretty sure that my mouthplate was stuck open but, since it was, I had better use it. "What…what's her title?" The awe I was feeling about my ship was in my vocals when I asked that. This ship was beautiful, and it was hard to believe that she was mine.

Ultra Magnus walked up to the ship and activated the bay ramp that would let me get on the ship. "Her title is the Estia. It was really the only name that all of us agreed on."

Well, I couldn't waste much more time. The Council would probably be mad that I wasn't gone yet as it was. So, I walked up the gang plank. "Thank you, Ultra Magnus…for everything."

He nodded. "Always remember Pandimala, for every one step you fall back,"

"I need to run forward four more." I finished off for him.

Ultra Magnus smiled at that before he turned to walk away. I was about to do the same when Ultra Magnus paused and turned back to me. "Oh, before I forget. There is a surprise waiting for you on the ship."

A surprise? As Ultra Magnus walked away, I turned to investigate my ship and with a nod, I walked inside. There was no turning back. I was no longer an Autobot and I had to move forward in my existence with that fact. It was going to be hard, but, as I approached the doors to the bridge, I realized that I was going to do just that. I stood for a nano, waiting for the doors to open at my presence, and felt a chill go through my chassis. Even though I was sad to leave, this was the start of a new adventure. If only,

When the doors opened, I felt my jaw plate drop at what was in front of me. I…I had to be seeing things. This had to be some messed up dream. Maybe I had been knocked out and I was going to be sold to some bounty hunter and I was just suffering from whatever fumes they used to knock me out. That had to be it. It made more sense to me than what I was seeing in front of me.

"Tana…even if you were to offer me the Allspark, I wouldn't let you near the controls of this ship to drive." Zarron argued with the warrior femme who he was fighting with for the seat at the helm. Remcy was standing next to Zarron, looking torn between who to agree with. Vox, who was next to Tana, looked like he was waiting for the right moment to strike at something.

Tana, who looked very keen on winning the argument, decided to take her turn in this argument that I still couldn't believe was happening. "Well, I don't have the Allspark but what I do have is more experience flying a ship than you do. So, I will be driving once you decide to move."

The two of my friends gave each other looks that told me that they weren't backing down. I had a feeling that I was going to have to break them up before I figured out why the frag they were here!

"Bots," Balm started with a worried tone. She was standing by the viewing window and she seemed very nervous. "I don't want Pandimala to hear us arguing when she gets here. I could drive until we get in space."

Both bots turned to look at Balm like she was crazy. To help bail Balm out of being drawn into the argument, I decided to finally make myself known. "What I want to know is why you all don't have your insignias and are here? I have to leave the Autobots and you have your dreams to live."

They all jumped at my voice and turned to me. Once I asked my question though, Tana marched up to me before helm slapping me and answering. "Pandimala, sometimes it is nice to think about how we look to you. You are our leader and we are your team. We will follow you wherever you lead us."

All of them…they…even though I didn't want to cry anymore this solar, I couldn't stop my self from falling to my knees and crying again. This time, it was out of relief and joy. I wasn't going to be alone through this. My friends were going to be with me no matter what and it took so much pressure off my spark to have that shown in front of me.

Soon, I felt two sets of servos comforting me and I glanced up to see Balm and Tana hugging me. "Pandimala, don't cry." Balm stated in a comforting way.

"Yeah 'Mala," Tana started. "you couldn't get rid of us that easy."

I let out a hiccup-like laugh before saying, "I'm just happy. I'm so happy that you all are here. I…I feel so selfish, but this is going to make all of this…so much easier."

Everybot let out a laugh before Vox…who I noticed took over the helm, spoke. "Well, we had better get going. All of us should probably get out of here before the Council gets wind of what we are doing." He then messed around with the controls and, a few clicks later, the engines started. Vibrations were sent through the ship as the power built. After ten nano-clicks, the sensation of flight came over me as the Estia rose from the planet's surface and made her way into space.

This was it. While the door that I had been dreaming of for thousands of stellars had slammed shut in my faceplate, this new and unexpected path had opened in front of me…in front of us…and this was the beginning of it all. What would the galaxies have in store for us?

* * *

 **Pandimala: I am so glad that you all are with me for this. It means so much to me.**

 **Tana: Well, Balm was the one that came up with the idea.**

 **Balm: *embarassed* Honestly, there is one person that we need to thank and that is the Authoress. Without her, you might have had to go alone.**

 **Authoress: Finally! Finally I get some recognition for something good.**

* * *

 **AN: And that is the end of that chapter! *mutters* Finally. *coughs* I know that it was a long chapter, but I had a lot to put in it and I hope that it made the story that much more exciting! I don't honestly have a lot to say (that won't give away points in the story) so I guess I will give a reminder to look at the little details.**

 **Now, for the titles of the upcoming chapters:**

 **Chapter 12: Eine Neue Welt**

 **Chapter 13: A History Not So Different**

 **Chapter 14: ...? (find out next time!)**

 **I now ask that you all review! I enjoy the reviews and they give me so much inspiration! Flames will be used to warm my fingers (it is cold here!). Well, that's all for now. TTYL! *thinking about being awesome***


	13. Eine Neue Welt

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.**

* * *

 **Authoress: I have no hope of defending the length of time that this has taken to update.**

 **Pandimala: You have no excuse. You are just lucky that we are all more patient than you are.**

 **Tana: That is correct. We will just kill you when you aren't looking.**

 **Zarron: *helmslaps Tana* That's too dark Tana!**

 **Tana: *optic ridge twitches***

 **Authoress: *nervous* And I am going to continue on here. *runs***

* * *

Chapter 12: Eine Neue Welt

 **Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.**

I couldn't help but stare at the front monitor, which we had showing Cybertron growing smaller and smaller. A large part of me felt pain as I watched my homeworld start to disappear in the distance. The planet that I was born and raised, the planet that held memories that were difficult and joyful both, and friends and family that I may not see again.

However, this was also a chance to have a grand adventure and discover more of what I could become. A chance to forge a path in life that wasn't an option before. To venture beyond Cybertron, without the Council holding me back, and reach heights that I never thought I might. This was the path that was now in front of me.

Plus, I was not alone. I took a glance around me and smiled when I saw my friends...my family...working to make sure the beginning of this flight started off smoothly. Vox, of course, was at the helm steering us on a path that would take us away from Cybertron and toward somewhere new. Balm, though she wasn't in this room, was in the medical bay making sure that the room was organized in a way that she could use it efficiently. Remcy was at a station organizing information files that the ship had access to so he could access the files with ease.

Tana, like Balm, was not in the room with us but she had gone to the ship's training room to make sure that the system was working properly. She seemed very eager to go and try it...probably for the chance to hit something. Finally, I looked out of the corner of my optics to see Zarron standing next to me, staring at the monitor that just showed our homeworld disappearing. He seemed very omposed and ready to face the future ahead.

Unlike me.

They all seemed to go with all of this like it was just another solar while I couldn't even get passed the notion that this was happening at all. WouldI really be able to survive out here with the backing of the Autobots? They had been around me my whole existence and now I was supposed to survive with just my friends. I trusted my friends, but where we going to be able to do something that took an entire faction to do on Cybertron?

"Do I need to call Tana to give you another helm slap?" Zarron suddenly asked me.

What washe talking about? "What do you mean Zar?" I really had no clue what he was talking about.

He, in turn, shot me a knwoing look once he turned to face me fullly, causing me to turn to face him, before he continued, "Pandimala, through all the stellars I have known you, do you really think you can stop me from reading you to figure out that you are still having mixed feelings about all of this?"

I flinched at his words and turned back to look forward, before I resonded to him. "Everything is just changins fo fast Zar. I gave so much of my trust, strength, and loyalty to the Autobots…" A wave of sadness washing over me caused me to pause so I wouldn't start crying again. This entire situation already caused enough tears to fall. "And now here we are. Out in the vastness of space and, I don't know about you bots, but I feel completely lost. I feel ike the Council really won out on this one." And as I said those worlds, they felt even more real. Yes, this was a chance for a new adventure...but would we een survive long enough to experience those adventures?

"Cut out the scrap." I flinched at those words and glanced up at the helm to see Vox almost glaring down at me in a scolding way. Hadn't seen _that_ look for stellars. He then entered in a few commands, probably putting the ship on cruise, before he walked over to Zarron and me. "I know you really don't believe those words Pandimala." I went to argue with him but he kept on rolling. "None of us can really comprehend what you are going through right now. You have placed so much work into the Autobots, gave up so much and risked so much, and they cast you aside." He then grabbed one of my shoulder cannons and pulled me down so we were closer to the same level. "But, that does not give you the right to say that the Council has won."

My only reaction to Vox was to stare at him in shock. His words seemed to dig into my spark like a dagger and I wasn't sure how I should be reacting. "He's right you idiot." I moved my gaze in surprise as Remcy said that as he walked away from his monitor. He had a smile on his faceplate and that made me feel a little better. "Saying that they have won only makes that scenario closer to a reality. Plus, you don't know what the future holds. None of us do. We just need to make sure we work together." He then let out a laugh before saying, "Though I gotta say that a little more warning about you being the creation of Decepticons would have been a little more helpful before all this happened."

Zarron nodded in agreement. "That's true. We could have helped you more if you would have only let us in." I then flinched as he gave me a helmslap. "So from now on, let us in you stupid femme."

As weird as it was, these mechs really knew how to pick up my spirit. So, I smiled and nodded at that before saying, "I guess that's fair." The four of us then started to laugh.

"You know," Vox started as we began to calm down. "the only ones who really lost in this was the Council. Not only have they lost a triple changer, which could have given them a huge advantage against the Decepticons, but they have lost many of their top agents in a number of fields." He then put his servos against his hips before he continued. "Now, we need to show the Council what they lost."

"And a good way to do that is to do something that even the Council, and Autobots in general, have not been able to accomplish." I turned at Tana's voice and watched as she and Balm walked down to the rest of us from the doors.

Zarron raised an optic ridge at Tana as the other two femmes on the ship stopped in front of us. "Oh, and what is that great warrior?"

Not missing a beat, Tana gave Zarron a helmslap before she continued. "That's easy. Let's make it the goal of our group to end this war once and for all! We have the skills to do that. Plus," She then smirked and glanced at me before saying, "We could see if Remcy's theory that Pandimala could get Megatron to surrender if they were stuck in a room together."

I shook my own helm at that and took a swipe at Tana while saying, "You're not as cute as you think you are Tan."

She laughed in turn as she dodged that. "Sheesh 'Mala, I was only repeating what Remcy always says." But, she seemed to lose her balance and she slammed herself into the door to the storage bay, which shot off of the main command room here.

Before I could ask if she was alright, all six of us jumped when we heard the sound of a soft yelp came from the storage compartment. Did another bot sneak aboard that we didn't know about? With the talk we had just been having about the Council, I was worried that whoever this was might be a spy for the Council and, even though we weren't Autobots anymore, this could be bad for future relations is we chose to have them with the Council.

We all fell into our batttle formation as Zarron, being the most agile among all of us, took the lead and moved quietly toward the door. Well, we wanted a start to our adventure here and, while this was a little sudden, it semmed like fate was going to do just that for us. I felt my wing tense as Zarron moved his servo to punch in the code for the room. We weren't sure what to expect when the door opened and I had to be ready to defend my friends. They had come with me into exile and I would protect them no matter what was thrown at us.

While I was ready for a few things to happen when the doors opened, one of the few things that I was not ready for was what happened. There, standing in front of the six of us, were two bots that I didn't expect to see glaring at each other like they were having a silent argument.

"Scorpi? Honeywhip? What the frag are you two doing here?" Tana asked in surprise as we made ourselves known to the two bots who were standing there.

Both seemed to be startled by Tana's voice and slowly turned their helms towards us and stared at us in surprise. Well, at least they did that for a little bit before Scorpi sighed and waved her servo at us. "So, I guess we got found out already. Hiya bots!"

My optics shuttered themselves a few times before I looked between the two of them and finally spoke. "What are you two doing here?" I then noticed a small detail that was different about the two of them from the last time that I had seen them. "And where are your Autobot emblems?"

That last part caused the rest of my crew to look at the two stowaways before Honeywhip decided to answer me. "Well, while this was not the way I wished for you all to find out about our presence here, I'm glad that you have." He then motioned to himself and Scorpi before saying, "Even though Balm and Remcy did not realize this, we were there when they told Ratchet and Casius, respectfully, that they were leaving with you; Pandimala." He then smiled and continued. "Casius asked Scorpi here to come with to make sure that somebot else that you all knew was here to keep an optic on you and I told Ratchet that I would come along to keep an optic on Balm for him. That old mech really does care a lot about you Balm."

"So," Scorpi picked up from where Honeywhip left off. "we separately arrived here and hid without you all knowing. We ran into each other when the ship took off and tried to stay quiet but whoever hit the door a bit ago scared me. I'm guessing I'm who you all heard?"

I nodded numbly at that, my processor still trying to catch up to the fact that we already had stowaways. Once it did though, I smiled and nodded. "Yeah, but I'm glad you are both here. The more the merrier definitely in this case." And it was. I had just been down, wondering what we were going to do, and I had been down about support and there were two bots who, while I counted them as friends, weren't nearly as close to me as the bots who I saw had been on here before we departed.

However, it seemed like Balm had another idea entirely. "You mean to tell me that you left Knockout and Ratchet just to follow after us?!" She then took out a wrench before launching at Honeywhip, who Scorpi promptly moved away from. While we all laughed, a thought came to me. Well, what was more accurate would be I started to wonder what the Council was going to react when they found out about what the others did.

 **Alpha Trion's 1st P.O.V.**

I sighed as I listened to the session of the Council that I was currently at. None of it really seemed to be important right now. It was a wonder to me how they could continue going over regular solar to solar topics when the Council had just decided only a few cycles ago to turn away one of what used to be the Autobots' greatest assets. A triple changer was not the sort of bot that the Well produced often, and none since the Autobots had gained control of it from the Decepticons, and we had been afforded a prime opportunity to have a fully loyal triple changer femme that pushed herself and was completely focused on serving the Autobot cause.

And just because she had creators who were Decepticons, she was thrown out. I could not fathom what had caused enough Council members to vote for her removal from the Autobot forces. Was their pride truly ingrained that deeply into their programming that they would ignore all of the positives that having a triple changer Prime would have given us? Not only that, but she was also a compassionate and friendly femme that got along with many bots that she met, and I knew from personal experience with the femme, ever since she was a youngling, that she was fully committed to the Autobots and her loyalty was unwavering.

The only good thing that happened during all of this is that the rest of her friends went with her. Plus, if my sources were correct in what they heard, then two other bots who knew here, but weren't as close as...let's say Vox, was to her, had snuck along with the group. They were Honeywhip and Scorpi. While those two hadn't become as vital to the Autobots as most of the others that had gone with Pandimala, I knew that it was only going to be a matter of time before a topic was brought before the Council that involved one of those five bots.

Speaking on those two stowaways, Honeywhip and Scorpi, I found myself hoping that they were discovered by the others before something interesting happened. If they weren't, then that might cause some beginning voyage problems for the crew of the Estia and that would not be a good thing.

"Very well then," I focused my attention back to the meeting, momentarily, as it seemed like we were about to change topics. I was curious about what was going to be brought up. Dragstrip, who had spoken, continued to speak. "now we will take a look at our current intelligence reports about the Decepticon forces amassing near the Planet Chaar."

A small smirk played onto my faceplate before I let it fade. This was going to be it. That specific report that Dragstrip was talking about was actually a cooperative effort between the CBI, the CIA, and the scouting association to keep track of major Decepticon movements. And the top bots from each agency respectfully who were working on this specific report? Vox, Remcy, and Zarron. This was a high-priority topic that the Council had been trying to keep up to date on so we could make sure that the Decepticons were not planning any immediate strike against Cybertron.

Councilfemme Setback then looked toward the messenger before saying, "Go and fetch the bots responsible for reporting on this." She could have at least said please.

The young femme who Setback told to do that looked startled for a nano before nodding and running out of the doors. The only bot I felt sorry for what was about to happen might be that femme depending on what was going to happen. Now, Sturis or maybe Terazda Major could possibly be the ones to report it, which would make this easier on the messenger femme. As a representative for the CBI, I should probably give the report as well, but my place on the Council outweighed my need to be on the floor telling the others that Remcy, Vox, and Zarron, not to mention Balm, one of the most sought-after new medics, and Tana, the newest member of the Guardians, had given up being Autobots to follow Pandimala into banishment.

Plus, I knew that there was going to be scrap hitting the blades when this report was given.

When the doors to the Council chambers opened, I was glad to see that the femme messenger was followed by Sturis. I guess he drew the short straw between himself and Terazda to tell us this news. From the look that Sturis sent me, I could tell that he was already tensed for what was about to be let out. "Sturis? What are you doing here?" Botanica asked the mech curiously. I had not told her yet, though I was sure she was another one that had voted for Pandimala to stay, because it would look like I was trying to divide the Council if I told anybot else. Her surprise at the news that Sturis was about to reveal had to be as genuine as it would be on everybot else in here.

The leader of the CIA nodded his helm toward her before he finally started to tell the news that was about to set this meeting into a riot. "Members of the Council, the bots in question who were placed in charge of this cooperation between the CIA, the CBI, and the scouting association, were Autobots Remcy, Vox, and Zarron. However, they are no longer permitted, along with Autobots Balm, Tana, Scorpi, and Honeywhip, to access any information on the Autobots and, as a matter of fact, no longer even reside on the planet." He then stood a little straighter before he sent the most non-glaring glare that I had ever seen and spoke the fatal words. "As of a few cycles ago, each of the aforementioned Autobots resigned from the Autobot faction and followed the previous Autobot Pandimala into exile."

While the Council immediately started to yell about how some of the top young processors in so many different fields left the great Autobot cause, and similar notions, I noticed that the almost-glare that Sturis had when he said the news, had turned into a slight glare. I could understand his anger at the Council for a couple of reasons he might have. His first, from an intelligence point of view, mirrored my own in the fact that the Council had allowed the Autobots to lose a mighty advantage in the triple-changer Pandimala.

However, the one that probably hit closer to home for Sturis was the loss of both Scorpi and Remcy. While Scorpi's loss was not as large as the one by Remcy, she did work closely with Remcy on many projects and was a great intelligence bot in the CIA in her own right. Then, of course, there was Remy himself. A prodigy who continued to prove himself to his superiors, and had even almost lost his processor defending Autobot information from being taken by an internal attack, and the Council's decision had forced the young mech's servo into choosing between his job, which he loved, and his friend, which all of us who knew that group knew that he loved more. Sturis had just been robbed of a great asset because of the Council's decision.

As the yelling increased in the room, I quietly rose from my seat and exited the obviously adjourned session of the Council. They were only just now starting to see the consequences of their hasty action in removing the status of Autobot from Pandimala and banishing her. That was a problem with this current Council. They let their worry about their status overturn the common sense and logic of a situation.

Once I made it outside, I looked around before deciding that, honestly, I could use a good drink right now and I was sure that Slapjack's was still open for me. Not only Slapjack, but I was sure that a few of the bar's regular patrons would like to hear about the situation that had just unfolded in the Council chambers...and I was sure that Sturis would stop by when he was done in the Council chambers to talk to me about the future of Cybertron now that we had lost such important bots.

I was pretty sure that, if any of the Guardians were there, then they were going to be ecstatic about the Council realizing the blunder that had cost them their newest member.

 **Remcy's 1st P.O.V.**

"What is going to happen when bots start asking questions? Ratchet is going to be placed on the front lines of those questions, but he is ready for that, but thanks to your thoughtless action Knockout is going to be right there with him!" Balm was still yelling and Honeywhip, who on his part was just sitting cross-legged and taking Balm's onslaught of yelling. "You know that Knockout has been looking into getting into politics! How do you think that your sudden departure from the Autobots is going to help him? He is going to have to find an explanation and then he is going to be pulled into the middle of all of this with Ratchet! I can't believe that Ratchet just let you come with like this!"

Sheesh. For a femme who used to be so shy and nervous that I thought she wasn't even going to make it through boot camp, she was certainly using those misused vocals for all that they were worth now. It had been three cycles since we had all discovered that Scorpi and Honeywhip had stowed along with us. Balm had to take a pause in her yelling before, though she had continued to glare at Honeywhip, when we were allowed to use the space bridge near Cybertron to transport to random, but safe coordinates that would put Pandimala far from the Council and Cybertron. From now on, of course, we were not going to have access to any space bridge and that meant that the rest of our travels were going to have to be made the good-old-fashioned way.

Honestly, with this whole situation with Scorpi and Honeywhip, I wasn't nearly as surprised as the others had been. Both Casius and Ratchet were older mechs, though I was sure that none of us would ever say that to their faceplates, and I knew that both Balm and I had become close to both Ratchet and Casius respectfully. They were going to want to make sure that we were going to be alright and sent another bot along with us that they knew closely. Scorpi and Honeywhip fit those bills. I was sure that, even if Scorpi and Honeywhip hadn't happened to be with each old bot in question when we had told them our plan, that the two old mechs would have asked them to sneak along anyways.

"You aren't mad at me, are you Remcy?" Scorpi asked me as the two of us worked on a monitor to sort the information that the ship had stored.

In response to her, I shook my helm. "No. I was surprised when I saw the two of you, but I wasn't mad. Honestly, I don't think Balm is mad either. She just gets really worried about Ratchet, and she is being worried about Knockout for Honeywhip. That's what she does." I then paused as the thought of our other friend came into my processor. "Scorpi, is Casius going to keep an optic on Blotto and his bondmate?" Blotto had become bonded about ten stellars ago to a very nice mech that was a three-wheeler and who worked as a messenger.

Thankfully, Scorpi nodded. "Yeah. Before he took off my insignia, Casius said that he would let Blotto and Flashsteel know about what was going on and he said that he would keep an optic on them."

That was good. While I knew that Blotto and Flashsteel were capable bots who could take care of themselves, the fact that they were our friends was going to make them targets to some when all of this slag about us leaving hit the blades. "That's a relief. Plus, I'm hoping that Blotto and Flash will keep an optic on Casius. Don't need those old femmes at the home trying to come and make him move there. Casius wouldn't survive a solar in a group home like those."

Scorpi let out a laugh at that. "He would probably end up offlining everybot there." She then seemed to pause, which made me curious, before she spoke somewhat hesitantly. "Rem, I know that I'm not as good of an intelligence agent as you are, but I want to be able to help Pandimala on this path just as much as you do." She then placed a servo behind her helm before she smiled and continued. "So I was wondering if you wouldn't mind training me while we are out on this adventure?"

I stared at her with surprised optics for a nano before I smiled and nodded. "I'd love to Scorpi. But, we'll have to start tomorrow. I think we've all had enough excitement without us crashing this new system because neither of us are familiar with it."

The two of us laughed at that before we continued to work in comfortable silence...well silence between us. Somehow, Balm was still laying in Honeywhip. How did that femme find so much to yell at her fellow medic for? I mean, he didn't do that much to deserve the wrath of the angry wrench-wielding medic. Once Balm backed off of the mech, then I would give him my support. Of course, that would be a long time after Balm backed off. I wasn't going to risk having that wrath turned on me. No thank you! I had enough experiences with wrenches thrown with deadly-accuracy at my helm.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" We all turned to Zarron when he suddenly said that, Balm even stopped yelling at Honeywhip, as Zarron seemed to dig around in his subspace. We all watched him in anticipation for a few nanos before he pulled out something that was wrapped in a cloth. Just what was that? "Ultra Magnus, after I told him about our plan, took me to this smithy shop and picked this up from the femme who runs it. Told me to give this to you, 'Mala, once we were all on the ship."

We all watched as Pandimala walked over to Zarron and moved to take the wrapped item. I almost let my intakes hitch as she hesitated just above the item. What was she doing? Was she nervous about what was going to be under there? Maybe she was just thinking about what it could be that Ultra Magnus wanted Zarron to give 'Mala that he couldn't give her himself? Now that I thought about it, I was curious about that too. What would be something that Ultra Magnus would have to have Zarron give to Pandimala because he wouldn't be able to?

Thankfully for my curiosity, I didn't have to wait long as Pandimala gently took the item from Zarron and opened it. My optics widened at what I saw was revealed. A branding prod that some used to mark their faction. But, the end of the prod did not show the Autobot insignia like it should if the leader of the Autobots had commissioned it. Instead, the shape on the end looked like the charm that Ultra Magnus had given to Pandimala when he had first dropped her off at Joint and Blockade's. Pandimala had shared that story with us a number of times, and each time she had, she had shown us the charm that he had given her. There was no doubt in my processor that was the same symbol on the end of the prod that was on the charm.

"That's a branding prod, isn't it?" Scorpi asked as we all moved closer to Pandimala.

In return, Pandimala nodded and looked at the prod while saying, "Yeah. I have a feeling that Ultra's been planning for this solar even longer than I have." She then let out a vent before she looked at all of us. "I know that we all just removed our Autobot insignias, and if you don't feel comfortable with receiving this mark that is your choice and none of us will hold that against you, but I am going to mark myself with this."

Vox shook his helm, to my surprise, before he took the prod from her. "No, you will not. Self, branding is dangerous. But," He then smiled before saying, "I would be honored if you would allow me the honor of branding you, leader of our new faction."

At his statement, my optics, and at least Pandimala's, widened in surprise and all of us but Pandimala took a step back in shock. Yes, we weren't Autobots anymore, but this was something else. I wasn't against it though, now that I was starting to think about it more. The Autobots had abandoned us, and our goal was to bring peace between the Autobots and Decepticons, so having a new faction to do that under would make that a more realistic goal. Plus, as I kept thinking, I liked the idea of following under the leadership of Pandimala. She definitely had a better processor on her than most of the Council did and she knew that we were all here to support her and guide her so she would make as few wrong choices as possible.

"A...I'm not sure...a new faction?" Pandimala finally got out staring between the prod in Vox's servo

In return, Vox gave her a knowing look before he spoke again. "Why not? We aren't Autobots, and I'm pretty sure we aren't going to be Decepticons. Plus, just being a neutral party is dangerous these solars. Being in a faction, even a new one, would help us gain ground if we are going to be striving for peace between the factions." he then turned on the brander and slightly held it out toward her. "And the only bot I would follow in a new faction is you, Pandimala."

I studied Pandimala as she continued to look between the now active prod and Vox. Instead of looking nervous, though, I saw that the look in Pandimala's optics showed that she was going through something deeply and logically. Her chassis was tensed to a point that she must be solely focusing on what Vox presented to her.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she finally let out a vent before she smiled slightly. "Very well. But, I am not going to force anybot to take up this insignia and follow me. If you want to remain neutral, we will still keep you with us and consider you close. We will not abandon you even if you don't follow us." She then looked to Vox and motioned to both of her wings before nodding. "Do it."

He nodded and Pandimala braced herself as the prod was pressed against each wing. Hisses escaped from her as the prod connected with each wing, but she didn't do much more than that. After her brands were on, she took the prod back from Vox and looked at him carefully. "Are you sure Vox?"

"If I wasn't waiting for you to put that thing on my chassis, I would helm slap you for asking that 'Mala." Vox shot back at her. Pandimala let out a laugh, which caused all of us to smile, before she moved the brander toward Vox and placed the insignia on his right shoulder. He hissed at the contact but he stood strong. Typical Vox. But, I wouldn't expect less from him.

Well, I might not have been with 'Mala since the very beginning like Vox, Zarron, and Tana had, but I wasn't going to shy away from her now. "I'll be standing with you for as long as I'm online 'Mala." I stated to her before I walked up and motioned to my left shoulder. She nodded and placed the brander there. It was hard not to yell out when the brander connected with my shoulder. I was lucky to just let out a hiss as Vox and Pandimala had, and my mark wasn't even somewhere sensitive like 'Mala's wings would have been for her.

Once the brand was removed from my shoulder, I took some intakes to stave off the pain as Pandimala looked out to the others. To my surprise, Balm was able to speak up before Tana could. "Pandimala, you all have been so close to me, especially after my carrier offlined herself a few solars after our boot camp graduation." I flinched as Balm brought that up. It was a hard time for her and we had all come in to support Balm, but Pandimala had been there even more for her than the rest of us. "With all that you have done for me, not even Unicron himself would be able to stop me from taking up that brand!" To my surprise, she then motioned to both of her shoulders. 'Mala nodded at that and put the brand against both of her shoulders. I had no idea how she did it but Balm barely let out a hiss with each contact.

When 'Mala stepped back from Balm, she tuned to Tana, who was already in front of her. "If you think that there is any doubt that I would take up this insignia then I think Balm needs to do a few processor scans after I helm slap you to the Well and back a few times." She then pointed to the biggest star on her upper right arm. Pandimala nodded and placed the mark there. I was pretty sure that it was only because warriors beat themselves up so much that she didn't even let out a hiss at the contact. Just some dilation of her optics slightly.

Then, she turned to Zarron, who was giving her a knowing look. "Do I even have to explain myself? Just give me my brand already you blundering oaf." He smiled during that as he motioned to the area on his chest plate just above his flame decal. Pandimala smiled back at him before she took the brander and placed the mark. Not to my surprise, he let out a small yelp but didn't say much otherwise. With his armor being so light, it was slightly more sensitive, much like Pandimala's wings were, and so the brand would have put more pain on him then the rest of us besides our new leader.

Scorpi, ever the non-hesitating femme when it came to decisions, marched up to Pandimala and smiled. "While we were never as close as you were to the others, you are my friend Pandimala and I am that close to Remcy. I would follow his lead until the end of time, much like he would you." She then motioned to her right doorwing. Pandimala wasted no time in pressing the brand against Scorpi's backplates. To my surprise, the femme who I looked to as a colleague before yelped out loudly and jumped away, thankfully the brand had taken hold before she did. "What the frag? You all made it look like it was nothing! Frag that burned!"

Honeywhip let out a laugh as he stepped forward. "Come on Scorpi, besides Pandimala and Zarron, who has sensitive armor all around, they all got their brands in places that have higher pain limits. Your doorwings are some of your most sensitive armor places. Of course, it's going to sting at least a little."

Scorpi frowned at that and stuck out her glossa. "Hmph." She harrumphed like she normally would when she didn't have an argument against what another bot said. When I started her training, I was going to have to help break her of that habit. It didn't make her look as smart as she really was and would make other bots outside of us possibly disrespect her.

My focus returned to Honeywhip as he finally addressed Pandimala. "To be perfectly honest, if you were any other bot, War Trap, I would have not even bothered sneaking on board." Pandimala smirked at her old nickname being used before he continued. "But, I count Balm is a great friend of mine, and you have been an amazing friend to her. I hope that, in the future, we will be able to develop that sort of friendship as well." He then motioned to his left shoulder. Pandimala nodded and placed the brand there, causing the medic to let out a growl as he felt the burn that we all did before Pandimala moved the brand away and we stared at the last brand that would be placed for the solar.

Well, we were all in this together. That meant that, from now on, we were all a team and we would all have each other's backplates. Now, we just needed to get an adventure gone on together that would really solidify us as a team. All of us from boot camp had...well….boot camp and Honeywhip had a number of medical team-ups with Balm while Scorpi and I had worked on countless assignments for the CIA together. But, now we needed something that all of us would have as a memory together.

"We have arrived in the airspace of an unknown planet." We all jumped when the ship suddenly said this and so we all moved to our different stations there on the bridge. Once Pandimala placed the brander in a compartment on the bridge and stood at attention behind Vox since he was unofficially the flight captain, for now, the ship continued to give information on the scans of the planet. "Planetary composition appears to be comprised of ice, water, and dirt. No detection of life. Further scans are in process. Please standby."

Well, that was somewhat anti-climatic. But, hey, this was the first planet that we were arriving at. That meant only one option was available for us and, with a look at Scorpi, she knew exactly what that option was. We had to implement this a few times on different trips and we would make sure that it was implimented here.

Scorpi jumped right on the mission at servo and dug into her subspace, making Balm jump at her sudden movement. After a few nanos, she finally let out a cry of success before holding up a blank picture-holo before moving in front of everybot. "As Remcy knows, we had a tradition in the CIA that whenever we went to a new planet for us, we would always take a picture of the entire crew so that the new experience was always immortalized." She then waved the picture-holo to emphasize what she was trying to get across before she said it outright. "Let's get a picture of all of us with this new planet in the background."

We all looked at Pandimala as she smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "If you all are okay with it. I think it sounds like a great idea!" The others soon gave their own nods of approval and so we all gathered together as Scorpi placed the picture-holo on the station that was closest to the middle. Once we were all set, Scorpi gave the count. "Alright everybot, hold those smiles for three, two, one," She then clicked the remote activator and, soon, our images were on the picture-holo.

Thankfully, we all were able to take a decent picture and so, as Scorpi put it away, Pandimala smiled. "That was perfect. Now, we need to," She couldn't get anymore out as the ship suddenly surged forward and we all had to grab onto something.

"Unknown planet's gravitational pull exceeds the Estia's current gravitational resistance measures. Telemetry failing." The ship's systems suddenly spoke up.

"Scrap this isn't good!" Vox yelled as he looked at the controls. "I don't think we can pull out of this." He then looked at all of us. "Bots, get to the stasis chambers now!"

While we all hesitated at first, Pandimala stood next to Vox and spoke. "You heard him! Everybot, get to your stasis chambers now! Don't make me have to give this as my first order!"

Well, we had all just elected her the boss of us. It would probably be good to listen to her. "You heard her bots!" Tana yelled as she stood by the doors that would lead to our stasis chambers. "Follow me this way!" We all nodded and made to move to follow Tana.

Besides 'Mala and Vox, I was the last one to arrive at the doors. But, I paused when I saw that neither of the other two were making a move to follow me. I was about to ask them about it when Vox spoke. "'Mala, you need to get to your stasis chamber. I have the most experience in flying this ship out of all of us and I have to make sure that we don't burn up on entry and that we don't land somewhere that will damage us while we are in stasis."

Not to my surprise, 'Mala shook her helm and moved so she was standing next to Vox. "That's all well and good, but I am your leader and I won't be abandoning you while you are still out here trying to make sure the rest of us live. No bot left behind Vox."

The two shared a look before Vox nodded and moved to the controls. They had everything handled out here so I made my way back to the stasis chambers. When I arrived, I saw that everybot else had already gone inside of theirs. So, I went into one of the four empty ones remaining before starting the activation from the inside. AS my optics started to slowly dim, however, I found myself worrying. Hopefully, 'Mala and Vox would get inside their chambers safely.

 **No One's P.O.V.**

The ship safely crash-landed on a field of white that spread out as far as could be seen. The occupants of the stasis chambers had no idea that thousands of stellar cycles would pass them by as they stayed in their state of suspended animation. The once dead planet that held no life would eventually grow to support many forms of life. One, in particular, would rise up above the others and become the dominant species of the planet.

This would be a species known as 'humans'.

 _Thousands of years later_

It was a quiet night on the once nameless planet now known as Earth. Everything seemed like a normal night for the inhabitants of this world. That is, however, until a ball of fire fell out of the sky and impacted the earth below.

Not long after that event, a giant mass was seen heading toward a heavily populated sector of this planet. The mass looked like it was going to crash into the sector but, at what seemed like the last instant, this falling mass leveled out and crashed into the giant body of water that was settled next to the secotr. The night then returned to its seemingly normal state.

However, what no being knew, was that those impacts would be the cause of incidents on this planet that would change Earth forever.

 _Forty Stellars Later_

Not that far away from a white plateau, two of the indigenous humans, both of whom were wrapped in layers of coats, huddled around a crevice in the ice. At first, it seemed like they were just standing there. But, at closer inspection, they could be seen shoving sticks of an explosive substance into the crevice to look for oil. This was going to be their last look before they headed back to their home-country.

Thanks to modern technology, as soon as they blew the crevice, scanners that were back at base camp would be able to see if there was any oil there. Once they were ready, the humans lit the charges and retreated a safe distance before they exploded the substance they had placed in the crevice. One of the humans held a communication device to its audio and was disappointed to hear that they had not found anything. So the human told the other human and the two walked back to base.

What they did not realize was, by setting off those explosions, that they would awaken a force that was currently unknown to this world.

 **Tana's 1st P.O.V.**

"Fragging glitching creation of the Pit that hurt!" I complained as I became more conscious from the induced stasis I had been under. At first, I had been slowly waking up, like the program was supposed to do on these fragging chambers. But, then I had jumped at the sound of something outside of my chamber and had hit my helm. That caused me to forcefully come more out of my induced stasis than I had been.

My helm ached slightly when there as a sudden knocking against my chamber before a familiar set of vocals were heard. "Tana, you online in there? Everybot else is already out here and it isn't fair to them that you are hiding in there." Zarron. I was really going to offline him.

Well, if everybot else was already out of their chambers, then I had better go out there and see what is going on. I pressed a few things on the inside of my chamber before my door opened and I stepped out. Once I got my bearings, I looked around and noticed that, like Zarron said, I was the last one out.

"Hey everybot." I then winced as the pain from hitting my helm in my hit me again and I put my servo on the spot of the pain.

"Are you alright Tana?" Pandimala asked me with a concerned look on her faceplate.

In response, I nodded before saying, "I got startled when I woke up and hit my helm on the chamber. The pain will go away soon."

A sigh coming from next to me caused me to turn before a certain two-wheeler with a big mouth started to speak. "Why doesn't that surprise me any Tana? If your helm wasn't attached to your shoulders you would ahve already lost it." He then shook his helm with a smirk.

"Zarron I'm going to tear you apart!" I growled in a challegne before I lunged at the scout and tackled him to the ground. I swore he did this just to get under my plating but I was goin to avenge my honor.

But, we didn't get to roll around for long before I felt a familiar sharp servo grab my arm before picking me up and away from Zarron. Looking at my previous opponent, Vox had taken the roll of getting the scout away from me. Well, that was fun.

"Come on you two," Vox started, "we need to figure out what has happened since we have been in stasis here before we see if our ship is even able to fly us out of here if need be."

Well, when he put it like that… "Fine. I guess we can have a truce for now Zar, but this isn't over."

Zarron, in return, smirked at that. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

Everybot shook their helms at us before we moved to the bridge. It felt like we had been out for quite some time. "How long were we out anyways?" Scorpi asked as Remcy started up the ship's systems.

It didn't take Remcy long to give an answer to that. "A couple million stellars. Not terrible all things concidered really." He then typed a few more things in before saying, "The ship, however, seems to be stuck in this ice. It'll take us some time to actually get it out...if that is the way we want to go."

All of us looked to Pandimala for that answer. She seemed to be staring at the screen in front of Remcy for a few nanos before she shuttered her optics and smiled. "We are supposed to be having adventures. Let's hold off on repairing the ship and see what this world has to offer us."

"Computer," Zarron started. "show me all of the different landscapes that this planet has."

The monitor in front of Remcy then seemed to spring to life on its own as images started to flash across the screen. White covered mountains, green plains, dry deserts, thick forests full of organic plants; this planet was much different than it had been when we had crashed here those millions of stellars ago. As these images and more flashed on the screen, the computer spoke. "When the Estia crashed, it crashed into the side of a plateau of ice. This planet, now called Earth by the local inhabitants, is dominated by a bi-pedal organic species that call themselves 'humans'. Their social structures seem to mimic those of Cybertron and the species itself seems to be an equivalent of Cybertronians except that these organics do not have the ability to 'transform'. However, there are many different styles and shapes that these humans can come in." The screen then flashed different images of these organics.

"Well frag, looks like we have to go and do some exploring now." Scorpi said with a smile. All of this looks like a lot of fun." She then leaned closer to the monitor we were all in front of before saying, "Estia, find the top places for us to explore that would give us the most benefit in learning about the species please."

I watched as the monitor seemed to be sorting through millions of pieces of information. Just how much information did the humans have stored? While that normally wasn't my thing, this was a lot of information that we were seeing that that was important. That much I did know no matter what Zar would say.

After a few minutes, the computer let out a ding before it continued. "The location of six important locations that should help garner more information about this planet have been selected." The monitor then listed six places on its screen as it spoke the locations. "The Pyramids of Giza, location Egypt. The Colosseum, location Rome. The Great Wall of China, location China." That one seemed a little obvious. "Niagra Falls, location United States of America. Charleston, location United States of America. Sumdac Tower, location United States of America."

So, we had six places that the ship felt we should visit, and there were eight of us. How were we going to do this? When I looked to the side and saw that Pandimala seemed to be thinking, I held off on saying where I would like to go. We had to give Pandimala the chance to act as our leader and that meant I had to let her choose where we go and who we go with. If she plans like she used to during our battles against each other, then she should be able to send each of us to a place that we will all enjoy.

After a few more clicks, Pandimala looked up at all of us and smiled before saying, "I think I know what we are going to do." She then motioned us all around the monitor as she started to assign different locations to everybot. As she spoke, I knew that this was going to be exciting.

* * *

 **Vox: So, this is the planet we crashed on. From the little we know, I'm excited to explore this place.**

 **Remcy: *nods* Same here. I am curious about where Pandimala is going to end up sending each of us.**

 **Authoress: Well, we will see. But, I think each of these places would be interesting to go to.**

 **Zarron: *walks in* I agree with Authoress. All of these locations look like fun.**

 **Scorpi: *curious* So...where are all the bodies the rumors said were here.**

* * *

 **AN: No words. Here is the update! Definitely long overdue, this chapter is. But, I hope that it was worth the wait. Instead of having the twins come along, as the original had, I thought that I would shake things up a bit and have Scorpi and Honeywhip go with instead. Plus, this will give the new faction two medics right off the bat instead of just one. Next chapter will have the group splitting up and exploring the different places that I have picked. Each place was carefully...well, I just picked the places and added the Sumdac Tower to help move the story along a little.**

 **That's all I really all I have to say for now. So, here are the titles for the upcoming chapters:**

 **Chapter 13: A History Not so Different**

 **Chapter 14: Welcome to the Club**

 **Chapter 15:...Find out next time! XD**

 **And that is all that I need to put. Please review, even to say hi, and I will appreciate it. Until next time though, TTYL! *thinking of chocolate***


End file.
